Deadly train crash in Greece prompts safety worries, strikes

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and THEODORA TONGAS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Striking labor unions have disrupted mass transit in Greece to protest the deaths of 57 people in the country’s worst train disaster, which exposed major safety deficiencies. The strikes halted ferries to the islands on Wednesday and shut down bus and trolley car service in Athens, where thousands were expected to attend union-organized protests against the government. A passenger train slammed into an oncoming freight train near the northern Greek town of Tempe on Feb. 28 after they were mistakenly placed on the same track. Revelations of serious safety gaps on Greece’s busiest rail line have put the center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the defensive.