Greek unions stage strikes over safety following rail crash disaster

Platforms are empty at the main station during a 24-hour nationwide strike in Athens (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

Strikers have brought transport services to a standstill in a protest at the deaths of 57 people in Greece’s worst ever train disaster after it exposed major safety problems.

The strikes on Wednesday halted ferries to the islands and disrupted public transport in Athens, where thousands were expected to attend union-organised protests against the government.