It was Tuesday, February 28, 2023 — a day like today, following a festive three-day weekend. Passengers aboard Intercity 62 had celebrated the final Sunday of Carnival and Clean Monday and were returning, rested, to their daily routines. Among them were dozens of young students heading back to Thessaloniki after spending time with their families.
The train arrived in Larissa with a slight delay and was expected to reach its final destination shortly after midnight. Some passengers had already fallen asleep; others were still chatting with friends.
At 11:21 p.m., near the settlement of Evangelismos in the Tempi Valley, everything changed. The passenger train collided head-on with a freight train traveling on the same line. Fifty-seven people were killed in what would become the deadliest rail disaster in modern Greek history.
The night of the collision
Both trains — the passenger train carrying around 350 people and the commercial freight train — were traveling on the same track. The impact was devastating. The first carriages burst into flames, with temperatures inside reportedly reaching up to 1,300 degrees Celsius.
Images from the scene in Tempi shocked the nation. Survivors recalled desperate efforts to escape.
“Everyone get out, get off the train,” some passengers shouted.
One survivor described how they used suitcases to build a makeshift platform so trapped passengers could jump down more safely from the wreckage. “We built the tower from scratch with the suitcases. Only when the last person jumped out did we move away,” he said.
Firefighters rushed to free trapped passengers and extinguish the blaze. Ambulances transported the injured to hospitals in Larissa and Thessaloniki. Parents searched frantically for their children, some asked to provide DNA samples to help identify remains.
By dawn, the scale of the tragedy was clear: 57 people had lost their lives. At least 85 were injured, 25 of them seriously. Sixty-six were hospitalized, and six were treated in intensive care units.
National mourning and resignations
The following day, Greece declared three days of national mourning.
The President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, interrupted an official visit abroad to return to Greece. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the crash site, as did political leaders across the spectrum.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Ach. Karamanlis, resigned on March 1, acknowledging political responsibility. The heads of OSE and ERGOSE also stepped down.
Warnings, causes and the stationmaster
Before the disaster, railway workers had repeatedly warned about understaffing, poor maintenance and the absence of modern safety systems. Demonstrations and written complaints had highlighted the risks.
According to the OSE inspector’s findings, the causes of the accident included:
- The delayed departure and routing of the passenger train
- Failures in communication
- Staffing shortages
- The incomplete installation of remote-control and signaling systems
The Larissa stationmaster was arrested and charged. He admitted that he had mistakenly directed the passenger train onto the wrong track. He faces felony charges related to endangering transportation safety and multiple counts of negligent homicide and bodily harm. Additional railway officials were later charged as the investigation expanded.
“Call me when you arrive”
A phrase often spoken by parents to their children — “Call me when you arrive” — became a haunting slogan during the mass protests that followed across Greece. The tragedy sparked widespread demonstrations demanding accountability and railway reform.
Allegations over the crash site
Technical advisor Vasilios Kokotsakis, representing families of the victims, later submitted a report raising concerns about how the crash site was handled.
He alleged that parts of the area were altered and covered with gravel and concrete, potentially compromising evidence. He also questioned the official explanation attributing the explosion to silicone oils, suggesting instead that the fire’s characteristics were more consistent with other flammable substances.
Relatives have continued to press authorities about missing freight containers seen in early footage but reportedly not accounted for later.
The 57 victims
The majority of those killed were young people — students returning to university after the holiday. The youngest victim was just 15 years old. Others ranged in age up to 67. Their names are now etched into Greece’s collective memory.
The trial
The trial for the deadly train crash in Tempi is scheduled to begin on March 23, marking a critical moment in the long search for justice and accountability.
Three years on, the night of February 28, 2023 remains a date that “froze” Greece — a tragedy that reshaped public trust in the country’s railway system and continues to demand answers.