![\"Tempe](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/tempe_crash_train_collission_intime-320x200.jpg?v=1731998949\")
The trial of those responsible for the Tempe rail disaster, Greece\u2019s deadliest, keeps being pushed back as the investigation drags on.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis had once optimistically declared that the trial would start in the summer of 2024. Earlier in 2025, he said that if the investigation concluded in March 2025, the trial could begin in September.<\/p>\n
But the file keeps being augmented with new evidence and it now appears that the trial will begin around Christmas 2025. And a further delay is not unlikely if a lawsuit against the appeals court judge conducting the investigation winds its way through the court system.<\/p>\n
There are multiple reasons for the delay: the constant demands for more witnesses; a delayed report by an expert; parallel investigations on related matters, such as videos submitted by the rail authorities and whose authenticity is disputed; the case against a former deputy minister accused of tampering with on-site evidence; and the successive demands by two civil servants to postpone their deposition.<\/p>\n
So far, about 20 witnesses including survivors and people who witnessed the fatal crash of the two trains have been deposed and, according to judicial sources, have contributed little to shedding light on the causes of the accident. Yet, a parent of one of the 57 victims has requested that all 171 passengers injured in the crash testify to the investigative judge. A lawyer for the victims\u2019 families has submitted a list of 67 witnesses to be examined, many of whom are among the 171. The investigating judge, who wants to conclude the depositions within March, has said that he will call 40 witnesses, many of whom will testify to his assistants.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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