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The closure of the railway line in Idomeni, on the Greek-Macedonian border, is a huge problem for the rail freight transport in the country. Around 1,500 economic migrants have been blocked there since 18 November because of the refusal of the Macedonian authorities to allow them to enter the country.

The case concerns 1,800 wagons in total inside and outside of Greece, as stated for Skai TV by Thanassis Ziliaskopoulos, president and CEO of the Greek railway company TRENOSE. Four trains travelling to Greece are blocked in Macedonia whereas the trains blocked in Thessaloniki and Athens cannot pass through Macedonia to Europe.

According to Thanassis Ziliaskopoulos, the damages for TRENOSE have so far amounted to 1.5 million euro but the reliability of the company has also suffered, since it is not able to perform its courses. Its major customers such as Cosco, Hewlett Packard and Sony, as well as importing companies are expressing their indignation, stressing that there will be problems in the market, in view of the upcoming holidays. Moreover, large foreign companies that cooperate with railway transport companies are threatening to terminate their partnership with Greece.

The Greek companies that cannot obtain their goods are not satisfied either.

A typical example is the fact that some of the blocked wagons are loaded with about 1,500 tonnes of sugar and other food in refrigerators that are to be delivered to a large supermarket chain. The company has reported that its supermarkets have already issued the Christmas catalogues but the goods cannot reach the shelves.

Fuel, raw materials and electronics are also among the goods in the blocked wagons.