Existing conditions the need to establish a new entity (2023)
For many decades, the predecessor of Hellenic Railways, OSE, faced serious financial problems with accumulated debts and extensive bureaucratic inefficiency, while at the same time the lack of progress in project completion made the situation of the Greek railway particularly damaging for all involved parties.[7]
At first, the operational inadequacy was addressed through the fragmentation of OSE’s responsibilities into successive business entities such as ERGOSE and GAIAOSE. However, the economic crisis and the internal administrative stagnation of the new structure did not yield the expected results, leading to further deterioration of the organization’s financial performance, the suspension of many parts of the network, and the decommissioning of a large part of the rolling stock.[8]
In recent years, a series of railway accidents and serious incidents have revealed major deficiencies in modern operating and safety systems, such as signaling, remote control, communications, and traffic monitoring. At the same time, staff reductions, the inability to hire personnel in critical specialties, and the accumulation of external debt rendered the organization unsustainable.[9]
Moreover, the lack of clarity in responsibilities among OSE, ERGOSE, RAS, and other bodies, the failure of coordinated management, as well as repeated warnings from the European Commission regarding insufficient compliance with European railway directives, strengthened the need for institutional reorganization. A decisive factor was the deadly Tempi train crash in 2023, which exposed serious systemic failures in key areas of prevention and control.[8]
Within this framework, the establishment of the company Hellenic Railways Single-Member S.A. came as a necessary response for the radical redesign of the railway sector, with emphasis on safety, flexibility, transparency, and compliance with European standards.[9] The establishment of SE was enacted into law on December 20, 2024, with effect from January 1, 2025.[10][11][12]
