With a focus on railway safety and upgrading urban transportation, Konstantinos Kyranakis presented his tenure review during the handover ceremony. The outgoing Deputy Minister of Transport emphasized that the basic commitment he undertook after the Tempe tragedy was implemented, stating: “Today we deliver a railway with five additional safety valves against human error.” As he said, “I kept my commitment, we all kept it together.”
Konstantinos Kyranakis: “So that children never die again on the Greek railway”
As Konstantinos Kyranakis noted, the actions of the last 15 months had one central goal: “so that children never die again on the Greek railway.” He made special reference to restoration works on the Athens-Thessaloniki railway axis. As he mentioned, after assuming his duties, the relevant contracts were signed, with the goal that the axis would have “100% signaling, 100% remote control and 100% ETCS automatic braking system.”
Mr. Kyranakis noted that no extension was given: “We didn’t allow it, because we had jointly given a promise to the Greek people that this project would be completed on time.” According to what he mentioned, on June 15, the manuals for the Daniel contract section are delivered. The signaling, remote control and ETCS systems, as he said, will operate by the end of August.
New control center
Referring to safety, he focused on the 24-hour OSE Operations Control Center and railway.gov.gr. “The shameful dialogues we heard after Tempe continued to be the culture of this organization and we changed that culture,” he said, adding that there is now “a safety valve against the heartbeat of human error.” As he said at the end of his statement, “as long as this safety valve exists, railway.gov.gr, and as long as it operates, trains cannot collide again on the Greek railway.”
25 new trains and training
Mr. Kyranakis also referred to the new agreement with Hellenic Train, emphasizing that 2 new trains are coming to the railway “with the same money.” In his review, he also focused on changing the training and evaluation model for personnel. As he said, training is now done with simulators, while evaluation includes psychometric tests with the help of the General Staff, “so that there is absolute understanding and strictness” for critical safety positions.
Donations for station renovation and road safety
Mr. Kyranakis additionally announced that two donation contracts were approved for the renovation of Athens and Thessaloniki stations. As he said, DEH undertakes the renovation of Athens Station, while corresponding renovation will also be done at Thessaloniki station through METLEN. Furthermore, referring to cooperation with the European Commission, he emphasized that the action plan for the railway has been completed by 98%.
In the field of road safety, Konstantinos Kyranakis said: “From 665 lost lives on Greek asphalt the previous year we dropped to 517. This is the biggest reduction our country has ever had,” noting that Greece achieved a 22% reduction.
Ο κύκλος μου στο Υπουργείο Μεταφορών κλείνει σήμερα. Για 64 εβδομάδες δουλέψαμε μέρα – νύχτα και καταφέραμε πολλά. Σας ευχαριστώ όλους, προχωράμε✌️ pic.twitter.com/Y5j4Hj5UHL
— kyranakis (@kyranakis) June 12, 2026
Urban transport and digitization
For urban transport, Mr. Kyranakis noted that 1,076 new buses were delivered to Athens and that in Thessaloniki the fleet doubled, with drivers reaching 2,800. He also made special reference to the digitization of Ministry of Transport services. As he said, all services concerning licenses, renewals and procedures for the Regions are digital. “This doesn’t just mean that citizens don’t wait in line. It also means less corruption,” he said. In fact, he announced the installation of cameras in examination vehicles for driving license candidates.
