GREECE was brought to a standstill by strikes on trains, taxis and ferries today that coincided with the anniversary of a deadly rail crash a year ago.

Greece’s deadliest rail disaster killed 57 people, many of them university students, when a passenger train collided with an oncoming cargo train in the north. 

Public transport services in Athens were disrupted by the 24-hour strike, organised by Greece’s largest public-sector union ADEDY, to press demands to further dismantle wage controls imposed during the country’s 2010-18 financial crisis.

Taxi drivers in the capital took the second day of strike action today calling for a cut in taxes, access to bus lanes and stricter regulations on ride-sharing apps.

Farmers and university students have also staged anti-government protests in recent weeks.

Flights were unaffected by the strikes after a court late on Tuesday declared that protest plans by air traffic controllers were illegal. 

Relatives of the rail disaster victims gathered on Wednesday at the scene of the crash for a memorial service as church bells across the country were rung 57 times to honour the dead.

“This is a pain that will never end, a wound that will never heal,” said Panos Routsi, whose son, Denis, was killed.

He said he supports a petition that has gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to strip parliamentary immunity from lawmakers who were responsible for rail safety when the crash occurred.

Mr Routsi added: “What I want is for them all to be [punished], all those responsible wherever they are hiding, hiding behind immunity.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said an ongoing judicial investigation into the crash has the government’s full support and co-operation.

He said: “Our thoughts are with families, who have every right to turn their pain into protest.”