Athens, Mar 3 (IANS): The death toll from the train disaster in central Greece has climbed to 46, the Greek Fire Service announced.

The head-on collision of a passenger and freight train, which ended up on the same track moving in opposite directions, occurred near the city of Larissa late on Tuesday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

The train station master in Larissa, who admitted that the accident was caused by his own handling errors, is to appear before an examining magistrate, Greek national news agency AMNA reported on Thursday.

An investigation into the cause has been launched, as the country remains in a three-day period of national mourning until Friday.

The government has pledged that justice will be served, the cause of the accident found and chronic problems affecting the operation of railways addressed so that such a tragedy never happens again.

Trains and metro services were shut down nationwide on Thursday after the Panhellenic Federation of Railway Employees called a 24-hour strike, protesting against shortages in personnel, equipment and safety control technologies.