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Greece train crash: New transport minister promises answers amid protests against rail operator

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Greece's newly-appointed transport minister said he was taking over on Thursday with a mandate to investigate the country's deadliest train crash, to modernize an ailing railway system, and to restore safety in Greek rail travel.

A Greek passenger train collided head-on with a cargo train late on Tuesday near the northern city of Larissa, throwing entire carriages off the tracks and killing at least 36 people, many of them students, in the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory. Officials said the death toll was expected to rise further as temperatures in one carriage rose to 1,300 Celsius after it was engulfed in flames.

"We are going through days that are truly dark for our country," Giorgos Gerapetritis told reporters during a handover ceremony at the ministry.

The government has faced harsh criticism for the state of its railway system since an intercity train collided head-on with a cargo train on Tuesday night, killing at least 46 people and injuring dozens, and causing the resignation of Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

Meanwhile, protesters scuffled with police in Athens on Wednesday, after staging a demonstration outside the offices of the rail operator Hellenic Train.

Police fired tear gas at rock throwing protesters who lit fires in the streets. Earlier, a candlelit vigil was held outside the same offices.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9522205/greece-train-collision-rail-strike/

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