RAIL - Back On Track Forum

On the move, on main up.

late services continue yet again !!

6:27am Nambour to Roma Street service was 17 minutes late getting to Central
on Thursday 11th June .. again !
We now call Thursdays "Late Day" as it's QR's most regular non-punctual service.

I'm getting tempted to send them a bill for all the lost time I have to make up.

Commuters are still getting tired of constant, and repetitive delays to regular scheduled trains.


Regards,
Fares_Fair

X974 13:48 Cooroylander currently running 25mins late at Woombye, problems with the ICE sets again   

late services continue yet again !!

6:27am Nambour to Roma Street service was only 8 minutes late getting to Central
on Tuesday 16th June.
One of the better 'late' results by QR.

Commuters are still getting tired of constant, and repetitive delays to regular scheduled trains.


Regards,
Fares_Fair

Quote from: rob2144 on June 15, 2009, 14:42:27 PM
X974 13:48 Cooroylander currently running 25mins late at Woombye, problems with the ICE sets again   

15 min out of Nambour today.  Seems since the ICEs has returned to regular Cooroy service, there has been issues with the units again.  X403/X974 has been at least 10-15 mins late each day for the past week or two.

X974 currently running about 50mins late, lead ICE is 153

ICEs are becoming less reliable despite the recent repairs/ATP ugrades to the units.  They are no longer used by Traveltrain (as a backup to the RTT), so basically they are screwed.

I personally think the ICEs would be the first units withdrawn before the first EMUs are withdrawn, considering the numerous problems with the units.

ICEs need a a replacement though maybe some IMUs fitted out for longer travel with more ICE type seats

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Accident causes train delays this afternoon

QuoteAccident causes train delays this afternoon
Tony Moore
June 17, 2009 - 4:42PM

Outbound train passengers can expect delays of about 15 minutes through Roma Street, South Brisbane and Milton stations this afternoon.

Queensland Rail says there might also be flow-on effects for the Ipswich, Cleveland and Beenleigh and Gold Coast trains.

Only two of the four rail lines are open near Graceville where a truck hit the Long Street rail bridge this morning.

The cabling for train signals and two of the four tracks were damaged during the accident.

While the repairs are likely to be finished by 6pm, it means some peak hour rail services will be delayed.

I came home on the 4.09 Redbank ex Central, held down outside Indooroopilly for about 10 minutes.

Quote from: ozbob on June 17, 2009, 18:18:23 PM
From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Accident causes train delays this afternoon

QuoteAccident causes train delays this afternoon
Tony Moore
June 17, 2009 - 4:42PM

Outbound train passengers can expect delays of about 15 minutes through Roma Street, South Brisbane and Milton stations this afternoon.

Queensland Rail says there might also be flow-on effects for the Ipswich, Cleveland and Beenleigh and Gold Coast trains.

Only two of the four rail lines are open near Graceville where a truck hit the Long Street rail bridge this morning.

The cabling for train signals and two of the four tracks were damaged during the accident.

While the repairs are likely to be finished by 6pm, it means some peak hour rail services will be delayed.

I came home on the 4.09 Redbank ex Central, held down outside Indooroopilly for about 10 minutes.

again. do drivers not know how tall there trucks are?

http://www.citytrain.com.au/plan_your_trip/service_alterations/service_alterations.asp#Major%20Track%20Work%20from%20Ipswich%20to%20Redbank

QuoteMajor Track Work from Ipswich to Redbank: Thursday 25 Jun
line

From 9.00am until 2.00pm Thursday 25 June 2009, all QR Citytrain services between Ipswich and Redbank stations will be replaced by bus services.

Buses will stop all stations between Ipswich and Redbank with a connecting train service to Brisbane City.

Delays of up to 30 minutes may be experienced.

I understand might be a landslip issue ...

this copied from Re: Do you suffer from late train services.

late services just go on and on AND ON !!

6:27am Nambour to Roma Street service was 22 minutes late getting to Central
on Thursday 25th June.

As far as being late goes .. our service was 30 min's late arriving at Palmwoods Station due to failure of the 6 car unit - type wasn't specified but may have been the infamous ICE train which has become our regular mode of late.

When will the third-trate service improve. It's been late arriving in Brisbane 3 out of 4 days this week !
They may even "improve" on that appalling statistic by tomorrow.
That, for the Translink statisticians is a 25% success rate of punctuality.
It is getting absolutely ridiculous !!!!

Regards,
Fares_Fair

Incident late this afternoon at Mayne Control centre, possibly a fire/fire alarm that necessitated evacuation and shut down for 30 minutes  or so.  Just caught a brief report on ABC radio.

Delays to all services.  Not sure how long was the delay (got a lift through a relative this evening).

No explanation given to the masses of commuters at central Station this afternoon.
All services were min. 10 minutes late.

An astonishing 56.3% or only 124 of 220 services were on time today !

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Problems between IPS and Rosewood and Bundamba and Wulkuraka  due to signal faults ...  

http://www.citytrain.com.au/

QuoteGold Coast Line : Disruptions between Robina and Nerang
10 Aug 2009

Disruptions on Gold Coast Line between Robina and Nerang due to signalling fault. Expect 30 mins delay. Service to resume by 8:00 AM.

Track work this past weekend ... 

From Courier Mail click here!

Brisbane trains stopped after power cut at Roma Street

Quote
Brisbane trains stopped after power cut at Roma Street
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Ursula Heger

August 14, 2009 10:30am

HUNDREDS of rail commuters have been left stranded on trains after electricity was cut at the city's largest station this morning.

A spokesman for TransLink said this morning 14 inbound trains were forced to stop on the lines after power supply was cut at Roma Street station about 9.42am.

Queensland Rail says the signal system at Roma Street went from mains power to standby at 9.40am.

A spokesman said power was restored two minutes later but it caused multiple track and point failures.

Power supply to the part of the city was cut after an underground high-voltage cable was dug up by crews working to repair a water main.

A spokesman for Energex said the Brisbane City Council crew, using an excavator, hit the main cable on the corner of May Street and North Quay.

Power supply was also lost to several key buildings in the city, including the Children's Court and the Roma Street Police Headquarters.

A spokesman for TransLink said the power was restored to the area about 10.19am.

At least this happened after morning peak.  I hate to see the chaos had this happened a hour or two earlier.

Will Translink add this to the late trains penalty, obviously beyond the control of QR Passenger so will SEQEB be fined for the consequences of the power failure.

http://www.citytrain.com.au/

QuoteIpswich/Rosewood Line : Delays
26 Aug 2009

1 hr delay for services on Ipswich/Rosewood Line due to power fault. Service to resume by 9:00 AM.

I wonder if this is related to the planned power outage at Darra?  See --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2650.0

CourierMail Blog here: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/comments/0,23836,25983553-952,00.html


10.13am - new sms - services have resumed.

New New Update 9.38am - new sms - service to resume by 10.15am

New Update - new sms - service to resume by 9.45am

Update - new sms - service to resume by 9.30am

1 hour delay in peak is huge - when I got the sms I thought oh no this isn't good. A report on ABC radio - power cut was between Oxley and Corinda and there are 11 trains stranded on the line - most, it is reported are at train stations - reported that power should be restored by 9.05.

QR website reports at 8.40am: 1 hr delay for services on Ipswich/Rosewood Line due to power fault. Service to resume by 9:00 AM.

Translink site has some good info:

Ipswich/Rosewood line delays - effective 26 August 2009

Passengers on the Ipswich/Rosewood train line will be delayed this morning.

QR has advised TransLink that power was cut between Corinda and Booval due to a problem with overhead wires between Darra and Oxley at 7.50am.

No trains are running between Booval and Milton.

Eleven trains have been stopped between Ipswich and Milton stations — 10 of those are at train stations.

QR advised that electricians are on their way to fix the problem and normal services should resume by 9am.
Affected timetables

    * Ipswich/Rosewood line - effective 23 February 2009



I too wonder if it is related to the planned outage. I hope those railbuses are active to transport the many thousands to their destinations.

Perhaps someone flicked the wrong switch?
Poor Ipswich line. Always seems plagued with something going wrong.

From Brisbane Times:

Quote
Hundreds of passengers are stranded at train stations this morning, as the Ipswich line has ground to a halt.

Rail commuters can expect delays of up to one hour after power was cut to tracks between Corinda and Booval, as a result of damaged overhead wires between Darra and Oxley.

Eleven inbound trains approaching Milton are at a standstill, having stopped running at 7.50am.

A Translink spokesman said electricians hoped to mend the damaged power lines by 9.30am, as no alternative transport has been arranged for city-bound commuters.

From the Courier Mail click here!

Train delays on Ipswich line

Quote
Train delays on Ipswich line
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Ursula Heger

August 26, 2009 08:50am

PASSENGERS have been left stranded for over an hour on a train between Wacol and Darra after power was cut to overhead wires on the Ipswich line.
About 11 trains were halted along the Ipswich line after overhead lines between Darra and Oxley failed.

Most trains were stopped at stations, but one was halted on the lines near the Centenary Bridge between Wacol and Darra.

A spokesman for TransLink said some of the passengers had been escorted off along the train lines by TransLink officers, while some remained on the train.

"They have been given water,'' he said.

He said electricians were attempting to fix the problem, and services were expected to resume after 10am

10.15am  services on the Ippy now back to normal ...

Quote.. damaged overhead wires between Darra and Oxley. ..

Possibly related to the construction works? ..  at least things back to normal now.

With the sheer scope and complexity of what is happening between Cordinda and Darra West it is amazing that there has not been more disruptions.   Very difficult as a brown field project.

From the Queensland Times click here!


Commuters trapped for hours in train blackout

QuoteCommuters trapped for hours in train blackout

Zane Jackson | 27th August 2009

ABOUT 500 Ipswich commuters were left cramped and sweltering for nearly two hours after a peak-hour train to Brisbane was stranded between Wacol and Darra with no power yesterday morning.

The frustrated passengers on the 7.32am QR Ipswich to city service were left without air-conditioning after a fault in overhead wires left the train and many others powerless.

Water was provided to passengers.

Eleven trains carrying about 5000 passengers were stopped between Ipswich and Milton stations while QR fixed the affected overhead wires, which were down from 7.50am to 9.55am.

Passengers from 10 trains were able to leave their carriages at station platforms.

Robert Dow from train lobby group Rail Back on Track said while he had received some positive reports from commuters, the breakdown of the train highlighted some problems in QR's procedures.

?Some people have said a guard on the train was very helpful and kept people in good spirits,? Mr Dow said.

?But as you could imagine, most people were extremely frustrated at being stuck between stations for so long in the heat.

?There were some elderly passengers who looked distressed and that's what some people were concerned about - that it seemed like QR workers were not overly concerned about that.

?These sorts of incidents highlight some of the problems with QR's risk management systems - like the public announcement system not working because of the power outage.

?I'm sure QR will thoroughly investigate the incident and look to improve their response to incidents such as these.?

A spokesman for QR Networks said the group was investigating what caused the damage to the overhead wires, and whether last weekend's track work on the Ipswich line was a factor.

The spokesman said QR Networks were unsure when the investigation would be completed.

There's no pleasing some people. Especially not here.
You want a service that runs to the minute EVERY time, but you don't want to pay more in fares to fund more trains? 
All you care about is the 10% of trains that run late instead of the 90% that are on time. I'd say for the mass amount of pax QR moves everday, those are pretty fantastic odds. Catch a train in Sydney for a few months, you'll find no one cares when your train doesn't come for 2 hours, and services you are travelling on can be cancelled at any station without anything more than a "disembark here now".
Also, how is QR meant to account for say, an elderly/diabled passenger boarding? Or an incident where someone has to be removed from the train? That adds five minutes to a journey and racks up as the train goes on.
And then, you want rail service growth, but you don't want the hassle that the continued track work and updates create? You want the darra to springfield line, minus the occasional fault and track closure thats going to happen with those kind of construction works? What do you expect? QR will build a magical track somewhere else and then just move it over to the ipswich line when it's ready? Geeze.
I think they're doing a great job considering what they have to work with, and for me the customer service has vastly improved over the last few years (with a few exceptions). Yesterday for me was an example of the great job QR do, they found the problem and got straight to work, constantly updating us on what was going on and although the customer service staff couldn't do much for us, I really appreciated the cheery attitude and bottles of water they handed out. Good job!

G'day Tavt.

This is our position --->  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2597.0

QuoteMedia Release 11 August 2009

SEQ:  QR Citytrain congratulated for improved on-time running performance

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport users has said that QR Citytrain is  actually providing an improved on time performance and this should be acknowledged.  The TransLink Tracker (1) figures do not tell the detailed story.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"As reported in the TransLink tracker QR Citytrain is achieving an on-time performance of 91.74 percent for 2008/9, up from 2007/8 at 91.15 per cent.  This is despite significant impacts from level crossing incidents and network failures during the past year.  Factors beyond the control of QR Citytrain."

"The on-time performance criterion of arrival not later than 3minutes 59 seconds is one of the tightest in the world.  This is seldom acknowledged."

"If incidents beyond QR Citytrain's control are taken into account the on-time performance is around 95%.  An exceptional performance, particularly on a network shared with a heavy load of rail freight traffic.  The bizarre  process of fining QR Citytrain for the consequences of network failures and errant motorists driving into boom gates is silly.  The government is in fact fining itself. All this achieves is less funding for urgently needed services and so a cycle of negative reinforcement is set up."

"Using the same flawed logic maybe it is time TransLink and Queensland Transport started to fine themselves for the failure to properly resource our public transport systems?"

References:

1.  http://www.translink.com.au/resources/tracker/TransLinkTracker_0809Q4.pdf

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

Cheers
Bob

I also congratulate QR for doing everything in their power to minimise the frustration that would've occurred during the power outage. Getting power restored in roughly 2 hours is remarkable, considering that Energex take much longer to do the same job.

However, I am unimpressed with Translink's response. They were notified by QR with ample time to reorganise buses in the area and communicate that to QR for them to relay on to passengers. For example, passengers could've been redirected onto the 103 at Darra to Mt Ommaney to transfer to buses to the city. Routes 451, 462 and 452 could've been diverted to pick up passengers from Darra to take to Mt Ommaney. Passengers at Oxley should've been told that they could catch the 106 for stations Corinda to Indooroopilly, or the 468 for direct access to Indooroopilly and buses to the city. Passengers at Corinda could've been told to take the 104 to Yeerongpilly for a train service to the city. Translink should have a back-up plan in the event of another outage like this, as buses can easily be used to ferry passengers to the City/alternative stations.

Thumbs up for QR! Shame on Translink.

Ipswich/Rosewood Line : Delays
28 Aug 2009

30 mins delay for services on Ipswich/Rosewood Line due to track fault. Service to resume by 7:00 AM.

http://www.citytrain.com.au/

Things back to normal according to Citytrain web site ...

Multiple service cancellations this afternoon and this evening, staff issues ...



See -->  http://www.citytrain.com.au/


Roma Street Train : Service Cancelled from Shorncliffe
Emergency bulletin    
Shorncliffe Train : Service Cancelled from Roma Street
Emergency bulletin    
Caboolture Train : Service Cancelled from Ipswich to Milton
Emergency bulletin    
Ipswich Train : Service Cancelled from Roma Street
Emergency bulletin    
Cleveland Train : Service Cancelled from Roma Street
Emergency bulletin    
Bowen Hills Train : Service Cancelled from Cleveland
Emergency bulletin    
Cleveland Train : Service Cancelled from Roma Street

Disruptions on Beenleigh Line between Bethania and Kingston due to police incident. Expect 30 mins delay. Service to resume by 9:00 AM.


Alt. transport operating between Bethania and Kingston.

http://www.citytrain.com.au/


From the Brisbanetimes click here!

QuotePedestrian killed by morning train
MARISSA CALLIGEROS
September 1, 2009 - 7:02AM

A pedestrian has been hit and killed by a train at a station south of Brisbane, halting services on the Beenleigh line.

And while rail commuters face delays of up to an hour, motorists at Clayfield can also expect to be stuck in traffic after a second pedestrian was run over by a truck.

Trains have been delayed as a result of the fatal incident at Loganlea Station as police investigate the circumstances surrounding it.

Police said the female pedestrian was hit about 5.30am. They will review CCTV footage from cameras at the station.

Queensland Rail has arranged buses for commuters travelling between Bethania and Kingston, although commuters can expect delays of up to one hour.

"Inbound services resume at Kingston and run to Brisbane city," a TransLink spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a second pedestrian has suffered serious head injuries after being hit by a truck inbound on Sandgate Road and London Street about 6.20am.

They were rushed to the Royal Brisbane Hospital for treatment but no further details were immediately available, a Department of Community Safety spokesman said.

Police have urged motorists to turn left into Junction Road as traffic banks back past the Nundah Tunnel.

- with Christine Kellett

Disruptions on Ipswich/Rosewood Line between Sherwood and Ipswich due to power fault. Expect 3 hrs delay. Service to resume by 11:00 PM.


Alt. transport operating between Sherwood and Ipswich.

Wow, glad I got home just before that went down. The Wednsday incident was enough lazing around on trains for a while thanks.

On Thursday 3rd Sept 2009.  Travelled on 7.54 am train from Salisbury to City operated by 3 car set No. 227.  Arrived Moorooka approx. 8am where it failed (wouldn't go forward unless driven from rear). Passengers told to alight and train driven from rear to Yerrongpilly and then driven forward on line towards Tennyson. In the meantime a train from the Gold Coast (sets 122/121) was stopped at Moorooka at 8.26am and operated all stations to the City. Cancellation of the broken down train resulted in a delay of approx. 25 mins arriving in the City. Not sure about the extent of delays caused to the following trains.

Disruptions between Darra and Milton due to weather events ...

http://www.citytrain.com.au/

QuoteIpswich/Rosewood Line : Disruptions between Darra and Milton
7 Sep 2009

Disruptions on Ipswich/Rosewood Line between Darra and Milton due to extreme weather. Expect 30 mins delay. Service to resume by 9:30 PM.


Alt. transport operating between Darra and Roma Street.

On the basis of their response to tonight's power cuts, if you ever receive an invite to a p%ss up in a brewerey organised by QR.... DON'T GO!!!!!    Latest estimate (guess?) is for services to resume by 4.00 am tomorrow morning