Greece’s Alternate Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Konstantinos Kyranakis, has alleged a serious act of sabotage on the country’s main railway corridor, the Athens–Thessaloniki line, just two days before the anniversary of the Tempi rail tragedy. Judicial authorities have already ordered a preliminary criminal investigation into the incident.

Speaking Thursday morning on private broadcaster SKAI, Kyranakis described the incident as a “clear act intended to cause deaths,” linking it to the timing ahead of the commemorations for the 2023 Tempi train disaster, one of the deadliest rail accidents in modern Greek history.

Damage on Main Rail Line in Northern Greece

According to the minister, the incident occurred Wednesday afternoon on the Athens–Thessaloniki railway line in northern Greece, at a point near the town of Platy, west of Thessaloniki. Unknown individuals reportedly caused extensive damage to remote signaling cables at the site.

Kyranakis said the cables had been installed with special protective measures, including cement covering, to prevent theft or damage. However, those responsible allegedly broke through the cement, removed the cables and cut them using specialized tools.

The damage put the remote signaling system out of operation at that specific point on Greece’s main north–south rail corridor linking the capital, Athens, with the country’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki.

“They cut the cables before the Tempi anniversary; they wanted deaths,” Kyranakis alleged. He emphasized that nothing was stolen and that there was no financial motive, dismissing the possibility of metal or material theft.

“This is pure sabotage by people who wanted a new Tempi with victims two days before the anniversary,” he added.

Preliminary Criminal Investigation Ordered

Following the revelation that unknown individuals cut remote signaling cables on the Athens–Thessaloniki railway line in northern Greece, the head of the Thessaloniki Court of Appeals Prosecutor’s Office, Leonidas Nikolopoulos, ordered a preliminary investigation.

In instructions to the competent First Instance Prosecutor’s Office, the senior judicial official called for an inquiry into whether felony-level criminal offenses were committed, the identification of those responsible, and for him to be informed of the results of the criminal investigation.

“Shocking Incident,” Minister Says

Kyranakis described the case as a “shocking incident” but stressed that the Greek railway network now has additional safety safeguards in place compared with the time of the Tempi crash.

He pointed in particular to the new digital platform, railway.gov.gr, which he said allows authorities to monitor the position of trains with high precision.

“We are safer than in the era of Tempi,” Kyranakis said. “With the new system, we can see where trains are with centimeter-level accuracy.”