On debt, Greece is being railroaded

ATHENS, Greece, July 20 (UPI) -- Debt-burdened Hellenic Railways in Greece has given the government a cover for billions of dollars of debt, a former chief executive officer said.

The railway, $13 billion in debt, "was an accounting trick, another good way for the government to hide its debt," The New York Times quoted former railway CEO John Mourmouris as saying.

The railroad is one of several state-owned businesses that have allowed Greece to keep a total of $33 billion of debt off of its own books, although it agreed to count these as debt with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund when negotiating for emergency loans, the newspaper said.

Greece has said it would explore selling 49 percent of the railway to the French, but selling it to anyone is unlikely given its mounting losses, which come to about 5 percent of Greece's total economic output.

The most recent data says Hellenic Railways lost $1 billion in 2008, while earning revenues of $253 million.

The system has a reputation as being unreliable and expensive, with frequent delays, despite doling out an average salary of $78,000 per year.

Even the railroad workers' union leader Nikolaos Kioutsoukis lamented the system's record. "It's crazy. It's not surprising that people prefer to go by car," he said.