A new platform, entitled railway.gov.gr, was debuted by the relevant transport ministry on Wednesday, days before the sorrowful anniversary of Tempi rail disaster, which claimed the lives of 57 people.
Essentially, the platform is billed as providing online users, especially via a mobile phone app, with the exact location of every train in the country, and in real time no less.
Had such a platform been available on the fateful evening of Feb. 28, 2023, the deadly two-train collision at the Tempi site in north-central Greece may have been averted. Other fail-safe systems to prevent human error were absent or possibly ignored at the time, thus allowing a station master in Larissa to place two trains – one a passenger service and the other freight – on a collision course, something which conductors on either one didn’t realize.
The platform also covers stations and routes, extended along all 2,000 kilometers of Greece’s railroad network. The platform is based on the Hellenic Positioning System (HEPOS) system, with each locomotive’s and wagon’s location transmitted every few seconds, and with an accuracy of five centimeters.
The system, unlike GPS, allows for the immediate monitoring of the exact position and speed of each train, as well as the direction on the rail line it is moving on. A special algorithm is cited as able to detect any collision paths in a timely manner, even if the trains are dozens of kilometers apart, thereby allowing for the immediate activation of the necessary prevention mechanisms.
In unveiling the platform, a ministry announcement boasted that the railway.gov.gr platform was a transports innovation designed in the country.
Additionally, every train will equipped with a high-precision satellite tracking system from railway.gov.gr, utilizing the Greek HEPOS Tracking System and the corresponding European system Galileo.
