NGR Public Inquiry

[ozbob]

Key Questions:

        Why were non DDA non DSAPT compliant trains ordered? It has been a requirement since 2002 for new passenger rollingstock to be compliant.

        Why was the order reduced from 100 to 75 six car trains?

        Who signed off on the design?

        Was Queensland Rail consulted on design of the new trains?

        When did the ' State of Queensland ' first know they had acquired non compliant trains?

        Why did it take till September 2017 for an application for a temporary exemption be made to AHRC when Disability Advocates and others had been warning of accessibility issues since 2015?

        Who decided that new non compliant trains could be used on the network without the protection of an exemption? Did the Queensland Rail Board approve of this action?


An inquiry will ensure that lessons are learned in terms of procurement so that taxpayers money is not wasted in purchasing of services and products by government that does not comply with legislation.

We want the true facts and circumstances brought into the clear light of day so the monumental botch that this project represents is not repeated.

A major project failure such as the New Generation Rollingstock's non compliance for the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Disability Standards Accessible Public Transport (DSAPT) simply cannot be swept under the carpet.  It is essential a thorough and independent inquiry to into all circumstances is achieved so that failure on this scale never occurs again.

Government of the day must ensure external reference groups which TMR and QR conduct are given the respect they deserve in that messages from them are duly considered.

[ozbob]

Media release 14th May 2018

Queensland: New Generation Rollingstock Public Inquiry commenced

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers has today commenced a public inquiry into the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) train project.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Despite repeated requests to Government for a Commission of Inquiry or a Parliamentary Inquiry into the NGR Project the Government has failed to launch or give a committment for an Inquiry (1).  We believe it is in the best interests of all Queenslanders to have an understanding of how a State can manage to design and order non DDA (Disability Discrimination Act 1992) non DSAPT (Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002) compliant new trains when this has been a requirement since 2002. Accordingly we have today begun our own Public Inquiry into the circumstances that have contributed to this failure."

"Unless there is a proper Inquiry into this botched NGR project the failings will not be properly identified and the mistakes can and probably will occur again. This is very important as we have determined the State will need another 50 six car train sets (this is additional to the present order of 75 six car NGR trains) to meet the service requirements when Cross River Rail is completed in 2024."

The key questions to be investigated are:

1. Why were non DDA non DSAPT compliant trains ordered? It has been a requirement since 2002 for new passenger rollingstock to be compliant.

2. Why was the order reduced from 100 to 75 six car trains?

3. Who signed off on the design?

4. Was Queensland Rail consulted on design of the new trains?

5. When did the ' State of Queensland ' first know they had acquired non compliant trains?

6. Why did it take till September 2017 for an application for a temporary exemption be made to AHRC when Disability Advocates and others had been warning of accessibility issues since 2015?

7. Who decided that new non compliant trains could be used on the network without the protection of an exemption? Did the Queensland Rail Board approve of this action?

"There is a considerable amount of information available in the public domain concerning the NGR trains and the issues and circumstances involved. Additionally we will be using Right To Information (RTI) processes to seek further information as needed. We will also write to Ministers, former Ministers, and Government Departments and others requesting any information that they might be able to provide to assist the inquiry process."

"To support the Inquiry a dedicated sub-forum has been set up on the RAIL Back On Track Main Discussion Forum. The Inquiry Forum can be viewed by the public and is located at bit.do/ngr ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?board=88.0 )."

"We invite anyone who can provide feedback or information to assist to correspond via email at ngr@backontrack.org or use our contact mailer at https://railbotforum.org/contact/  (confidentiality assured as desired). "

"We hope to complete our Inquiry by 30th November 2018. The Inquiry Report will be presented to Premier and Transport Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Transport Minister, and the Speaker of Parliament, as well as being available publicly."

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

References:

1. 15 July 2017 Queensland: Call for a commission of Inquiry into the New Generation Rollingstock Project
https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12853.0

2. New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Timeline - significant events
(work in progress - this will continue to be updated as we proceed)

2010/11 -  Downer EDI withdraws from tender process for NGR

October 2011 - Original plan for 200 3 car sets changes into 75 6 car sets

July 2012 - DTMR takes over NGR Project Management from Queensland Rail

December 2013 – Contract awarded to the Bombardier-led consortium called Qtectic

January 2014 - DTMR " The first trains will be in service by mid-2016 ... "

April 2014 – Works commenced on Wulkuraka Maintenance Centre

April 2015 - Concerns raised re accessibility issues with the NGRs

August 2015 - Disability sector wrote to then Minister for Transport requesting a meeting to discuss concerns re NGR accessibility

February 2016 – Wulkuraka Maintenance Centre officially opened

February 2016 – First NGR train arrived in South East Queensland to commence testing

14 September 2016 – Start of on-track testing

March 2017 - Delivery of NGRs halted

June 2017 - Official acknowledgement the NGRs are not DDA DSAPT compliant

27 September 2017 - Application to AHRC by the State of Queensland for Temporary Exemption

11 December 2017 – Start of passenger services

12 December 2017 - Complaint lodged with AHRC re NGR non compliance

21 December 2017 - NGR 701 moved to Redbank for storage.  Later joined by other NGR trains.

2 March 2018 - AHRC Preliminary View on State of Queensland's application

29 March 2018  - AHRC Decision on the State of Queensland's Application

14 May 2018 - RAIL Back On Track commences NGR Public Inquiry

[ozbob]

Letter: Invitation for a response

Addressees:

PALASZCZUK, Honourable Annastacia [Ms]
Premier and Minister for Trade
1 William Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
(PO Box 15185, City East Qld 4002)
Email: thepremier@premiers.qld.gov.au

TRAD, Honourable Jacklyn Anne (Jackie) [Ms]
Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Partnerships
1 William Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
(GPO Box 611, Brisbane Qld 4001)
Email: deputy.premier@ministerial.qld.gov.au
treasurer@ministerial.qld.gov.au

BAILEY, Honourable Mark Craig
Minister for Transport and Main Roads
1 William Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
(GPO Box 2644, Brisbane Qld 4001)
Email: transportandmainroads@ministerial.qld.gov.au

FRECKLINGTON, Deborah Kay (Deb) [Mrs]
Leader of the Opposition and
Shadow Minister for Trade
Opposition Office:
Level 7, Mineral House, 41 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
(PO Box 15057, City East Qld 4002)
Email: reception@opposition.qld.gov.au

MINNIKIN, Steven James (Steve)
Shadow Minister for Transport and Main Roads
Unit 1, Millennium Business Centre, Millennium Bvd,
Carindale Qld 4152
(PO Box 1565, Carindale Qld 4152)
Email: chatsworth@parliament.qld.gov.au

HINCHLIFFE, Honourable Stirling James
Minister for Local Government, Minister for
Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs
1 William Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
(PO Box 15009, City East Qld 4002)
Email: lgrma@ministerial.qld.gov.au

NICHOLLS, Timothy James (Tim)
Shop 1, 729 Sandgate Road, Clayfield Qld 4011
(PO Box 281, Clayfield Qld 4011)
Email: clayfield@parliament.qld.gov.au

POWELL, Andrew Carey
Shadow Minister for State Development,
Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning
Suite 4, 70 Maple Street, Maleny Qld 4552
(PO Box 727, Maleny Qld 4552)
Email: glass.house@parliament.qld.gov.au

KATTER, Robert Ignatius (Robbie)
Mount Isa Electorate Office:
Mt Isa Trades & Labour Council Building,
74 Camooweal Street, Mt Isa Qld 4825
(PO Box 1968, Mount Isa Qld 4825)
Email: traeger@parliament.qld.gov.au

BERKMAN, Michael Craig
Suite 1, 49 Station Road, Indooroopilly Qld 4068
(PO Box 423, Indooroopilly Centre Qld 4068)
Email: maiwar@parliament.qld.gov.au

ANDREW, Stephen Seymour James (Steve)
The Sarina Centre, Central Street, Sarina Qld 4737
(PO Box 56, Sarina Qld 4737)
Email: mirani@parliament.qld.gov.au

BOLTON, Sandra Leigh (Sandy) [Ms]
Suite CB05, Noosa Civic, 28 Eenie Creek Road, Noosaville Qld 4566
(PO Box 1447, Noosaville BC Qld 4566)
Email: noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au

^ all above have been emailed an invitation.

Mr Neil Scales
Director-General
Department of Transport and Main Roads
General business
PO Box 673
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006

Mr Matthew Longland
Deputy Director-General
TransLink
Public transport – TransLink
TransLink Division
GPO Box 50
Brisbane Qld 4001

Mr Phillip Strachan (Chair)
Queensland Rail Board
Queensland Rail
GPO BOX 1429
​Brisbane QLD 4001​​

Mr Nick Easy
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Queensland Rail
GPO BOX 1429
​Brisbane QLD 4001​​

Ms Julie-Ann Campbell
Secretary
Queensland Labor
16 Peel St
South Brisbane QLD 4101

Mr Gary Spence
President LNP Queensland
Postal Address
PO Box 940
Spring Hill QLD 4004

Mr Scott Emerson
C/- SAS Group
Level 7
241 Adelaide Street
Brisbane 4000

Mr Campbell Newman
C/- Arcana Capital
PO Box 2068
Ascot Qld 4007

^^ will be sent an invitation by post today.

==========



RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org 
             
New Generation Rollingstock Public Inquiry - Invitation for a response

May 2018

Dear

RAIL Back On Track has commenced a public Inquiry into the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR)  Project. To support the Inquiry a dedicated sub-forum has been set up on the RAIL Back On Track Main Discussion Forum. The Inquiry Forum can be viewed by the public and is located at bit.do/ngr ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?board=88.0 ).

An inquiry will ensure that lessons are learned in terms of procurement so that taxpayers money is not wasted in purchasing of services and products by government that does not comply with legislation. We want the true facts and circumstances brought into the clear light of day so that the failures are not repeated.

A major project failure such as the New Generation Rollingstock's non compliance for the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Disability Standards Accessible Public Transport (DSAPT) simply cannot be swept under the carpet. It is essential a thorough and independent inquiry to into all circumstances is achieved so that failure on this scale never occurs again.

The key questions to be investigated are:

1. Why were non DDA non DSAPT compliant trains ordered? It has been a requirement since 2002 for new passenger rollingstock to be compliant.

2. Why was the order reduced from 100 to 75 six car trains?

3. Who signed off on the design?

4. Was Queensland Rail consulted on design of the new trains?

5. When did the ' State of Queensland ' first know they had acquired non compliant trains?

6. Why did it take till September 2017 for an application for a temporary exemption be made to AHRC when Disability Advocates and others had been warning of accessibility issues since 2015?

7. Who decided that new non compliant trains could be used on the network without the protection of an exemption? Did the Queensland Rail Board approve of this action?

There is a considerable amount of information available in the public domain concerning the NGR trains and the issues and circumstances involved. Additionally we will be using Right To Information (RTI) processes to seek further information as needed.

We are writing to you to invite a response on the key questions above, or any other relevant information you or your delegate  may wish to provide to our Inquiry. It would assist if any responses are sent by the close of business 31st July 2018.  Responses can be sent electronically to ngr@backontrack.org as a word document or PDF file. All responses will be published as appendices to the final inquiry report.

We hope to complete our Inquiry by 30th November 2018. The Inquiry Report will be provided to Premier and Transport Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Transport Minister, and the Speaker of Parliament, as well as being available publicly.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Robert


Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Queensland Times 23rd May 2018 page 5

NGR public inquiry launched