Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, in a written answer on 12 June 2026, clarified that EU rail safety and interoperability directives do not apply to historic or touristic railways such as the Diakopto-Kalavryta rack railway in Greece, shifting responsibility for its maintenance and safety entirely to national authorities. The answer, responding to a question by MEP Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI), noted that Greece, like most Member States, opted to exclude such infrastructure from the scope of Directives (EU) 2016/798 and 2016/797, as permitted by Article 2(3)(b) and Article 1(4)(b) respectively. This means the EU's Common Safety Methods and Technical Specifications for Interoperability do not govern the line, whose sudden suspension raised concerns about maintenance and risk prevention. The Commission offered no specific steps to restore or modernise the railway, deferring to national rules.
The answer provides no concrete proposals, numerical targets, or deadlines, and signals no immediate EU-level action. Institutional follow-up is unlikely unless Greece requests EU support or the Commission reviews the exclusion provisions.
The clarification impacts Greek national authorities, who bear full responsibility for safety and maintenance; local tourism and economic stakeholders reliant on the line; EU rail safety regulators, whose oversight is limited; and historic railway operators across Member States, who remain outside EU harmonised rules.
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