RAIL - Back On Track Forum

Take the 2023 Queensland sentiment survey now  (not paywalled)

> https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/take-the-2023-queensland-sentiment-survey-now/news-story/1776403aa4d78ed2dfdb409994342954

Couriermail --> Sentiment survey: Damning poll exposes grim reality of Qld transport infrastructure $

QuoteCongested roads are ruining Queenslanders' weekend plans, our exclusive sentiment survey shows, while 60 per cent say public transport is either unreliable or simply unavailable where they are.

Congested roads are ruining Queenslanders' weekend plans with traffic jams also making the commute to work longer for nearly two out of five people compared to just a year ago.

Frustrations over traffic gridlock has pushed the critical need for a fast rail network in the southeast to the top of commuters' priority list.

The Courier-Mail's sentiment survey — completed by nearly 7000 people — revealed congestion was stopping 64 per cent of respondents from going places on weekends, in a blow to lifestyles and the economy.

And 37.5 per cent – or nearly two of every five people — were spending more time commuting to work now than they did a year ago.

The solutions lie in long-term and "bold" strategic planning across all levels of government according to RACQ Head of Public Policy Dr Michael Kane, with the peak body representing motorists repeatedly warning of severe congestion if this isn't done. ...

Quote"No one wants to waste time stuck in traffic, which is why our government is delivering the Big Transport Build. We have more than $32 billion invested to build the road and rail infrastructure our growing state needs," he said.

It's always frustrating to see transport ministers boil these issues down to big concrete and big price tag.

Curious to know if the minister uses PT as a primary means of transport...

If you spend $32 billion and your train service is still much worse than Perth, you have blown up your money.

Transperth Ellenbrook rail line is 21 km, for $1.3 billion. So 62 million/km. Bus reform even cheaper than this.

I hope the minister can pivot quickly on policy, state election 9 months away now!

He wasn't referring to just rail. Lots of projects can easily make up that list. CRR and QTMP can make $15 billion on that list. The Cairns Southern Access Corridor is another $14 billion dollar project (includes moving and realigning the NCL but only because the Bruce Highway was getting realigned). Bruce Highway Gympie Bypass is another billion. That's $30 billion. Another $2 billion for the Gateway + Bruce Highway interchange.

You could argue federal funding but CRR and QTMP is all state. Another 3 billion for the Beenleigh line upgrade. Coomera connector and M1 upgrade. You can suddenly get to that mark quite quickly. And it's not just SEQ. Lots of other projects across the state would make that up that total.

Service Standards

Did they increase 15-min off peak train frequency? Negative.

Train service in the off-peak is largely the same as when Palaszczuk entered premier's office in 2015.

No infrastructure required to get off-peak 15 min trains to Kippa-Ring or Sandgate. Minimal works to achieve Shorncliffe.

Same story with BUZ services. Any new ones since then? Last HF upgrade was Maroon CityGlider in 2013. Last BUZ upgrade ~ 2011.

Bottom Line: Not getting results when it comes to services, at least in Brisbane.

No upgraded train services due to rollingstock uncertainty. The translink network review and MBRL opening was to be 4tph with 2tph Ipswich-Caboolture on full time express patterns (this is already reflected in the timetable). No new feeder bus network capped patronage demand, driver shortage was coming to head, NGRs had another fleet expansion stage cancelled and NGRs were having acceptance issues on top of a reduced fleet of possibly 50x 6 car EMU/SMU being withdrawn meant services were capped. NGRs also had the issue of needing additional PSA requirements which has lead them to not being run on Beenleigh-Ferny Grove services as a way to cut down on PSA staffing levels (NGRs are certified to run on the entire suburban network). Rollingstock refurbs now take longer due to Redbank not being operational - Redbank had a vast amount of facilities and staff and quickly churned through refurbs. Maryborough is limited. In some instances at Redbank simply made the parts they needed while at Maryborough they have to be done by a 3rd party leading to red tape and longer times. NGR issues needed to be done at Maryborough which is where all the QR refurbs are now being sent to. One IMU is still awaiting assessment for flood damage as NGR and 260/160 refurbs are taking priority. The final nail in the coffin was CRR with no rollingstock extension planned. The current government cancelled the next stages of the NGR contract so we didn't get the full NGR fleet. That locked in the capped frequency as it was less of a political storm to cut frequency on lines when CRR opened.

No new buz services because they were paying politics. State capped the budget for BCC. That's the reason for the network review and gutting the hell out of the brisbane bus network. State got cold feet in the lead up to an election and told BCC to do the review and they/Lord Mayor/deputy Lord Mayor said nothing was wrong with its network. A couple months later the Lord Mayor attacked translink again over funding as it was made public BCC were paying drivers overtime to the tune of 4-5 million due to a few routes not meeting OTP (335 kept getting extended and extended and eventually was regularly late. The state came to the table to negotiate and the solution on was to balloon running times to meet OTP with it being scheduled to take nearly 2 hours to run the route Queen Street. Remember BCC props up its bus network by around 30 million a year. The TransLink contract doesn't actually cover all the running of all bus routes. BCC is using the metro project to get around admitting they were wrong. The Gold bus BCC wants to push through is being funded by them. Not the state. This is why bcc should not be handling pt. They do what suits them rather than providing a service.

We will be focussing on service improvements leading up to #qldvotes2024 as a key issue.

All political parties/candidates you are on notice.   

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1743776364149506404?s=20

Quote from: ozbobWe will be focussing on service improvements leading up to #qldvotes2024 as a key issue.

All political parties/candidates you are on notice.   

Suggest some challenging but achievable tasks ahead:

Steven Miles electorate contains the Kippa-Ring line. So 15-min off-peak train frequency for that line please.

Can the Premier deliver for his own electorate? Let's see. Obviously justified if the Bruce in that area needs duplication...

Bart Mellish, upgrade route 359 and 350 to BUZ or at least Hi Frequency standard. 350 goes though his electorate and 359 next to it. Justified because they scrapped the NWTC.

Can they do it?

Quote from: #Metro on January 07, 2024, 05:42:07 AMService Standards

Did they increase 15-min off peak train frequency? Negative.

Train service in the off-peak is largely the same as when Palaszczuk entered premier's office in 2015.

No infrastructure required to get off-peak 15 min trains to Kippa-Ring or Sandgate. Minimal works to achieve Shorncliffe.

Same story with BUZ services. Any new ones since then?

Bottom Line: Not getting results when it comes to services, at least in Brisbane.

Unlikely to get 15 mins or better on those two lines as it would cause too much train and road congestion along those lines with boom gates down etc .. That's a train every three mins. The Council did add more peak buses to some Buz routes prior to Covid.

20 mins or better is achievable considering the infrastructure and resource constraints. That's after they remove the level crossings. Considering it takes them 2 years to remove one level crossing, it will take a long time.

Do they have enough in the transport budget to increase train frequency, being  bi directional all day every day or even weekdays, as well as the big infrastructure build required before the Olympics?

Just to put things in perspective. In Sydney they have progressively spent and delivered on improvements on the train network over the last 20 years to get to the point where there are now.

Perth has a modern driver only system which too had improvements done with new tunnels under the city as well as extensions etc... over the last 15 

Quote from: Verbatim9Unlikely to get 15 mins or better on those two lines as it would cause too much train and road congestion along those lines with boom gates down etc .. That's a train every three mins. The Council did add more peak buses to some Buz routes prior to Covid.

20 mins or better is achievable considering the infrastructure and resource constraints. That's after they remove the level crossings. Considering it takes them 2 years to remove one level crossing, it will take a long time.

Disagree. I'll set out the reasoning why below, but IMO you have the same trains per hour in peak as in off-peak at least for the KR line.

Kippa-Ring Example

Six trains per hour depart Kippa-Ring in the am, which arrive at Central before 9 am.

So a train every 10 min, towards the city. At the same time, two trains going towards Kippa-Ring on the return path.

So 8 trains per hour on the tracks.

In the off-peak if 4 trains are going towards the Brisbane CBD and 4 trains are on the return path to Kippa-Ring, we also get 8 trains per hour.

Conclusion - No difference.

Perth

Perth has a number of older lines which have level crossings on them. They run 4 trains in both directions, all day, giving 8 trains/hour. See image ---> https://maps.app.goo.gl/8z4VxF6DXiFABVXZA

Have no issues to report from my travels there last year.

QuoteDo they have enough in the transport budget to increase train frequency, being  bi directional all day every day or even weekdays, as well as the big infrastructure build required before the Olympics?

Depends on where they want to put their our money. Issue is capital allocation. Incremental service improvements are the quickest and cheapest improvement you could make, far cheaper than capital works projects, deliverable in the immediate term, and with far less risk.

Current QLD infrastructure projects tend to overrun by 1.5-2x. I'm not aware of comparable overruns on bus or train labour operations.

Quote from: HappyTrainGuy on January 07, 2024, 00:56:36 AMHe wasn't referring to just rail. Lots of projects can easily make up that list. CRR and QTMP can make $15 billion on that list. The Cairns Southern Access Corridor is another $14 billion dollar project (includes moving and realigning the NCL but only because the Bruce Highway was getting realigned). Bruce Highway Gympie Bypass is another billion. That's $30 billion. Another $2 billion for the Gateway + Bruce Highway interchange.

You could argue federal funding but CRR and QTMP is all state. Another 3 billion for the Beenleigh line upgrade. Coomera connector and M1 upgrade. You can suddenly get to that mark quite quickly. And it's not just SEQ. Lots of other projects across the state would make that up that total.

That's the issue with Qld too being a regional state. In WA most of the funding goes into Perth and some townships just south of Perth.  In Qld you have Brisbane (underfunded) as well as the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Then you have Toowoomba (underfunded) as well as Bundy, Rocky, Mackay Townsville and Cairns.

Quote from: #Metro on January 07, 2024, 10:59:05 AM

Quote from: Verbatim9Unlikely to get 15 mins or better on those two lines as it would cause too much train and road congestion along those lines with boom gates down etc .. That's a train every three mins. The Council did add more peak buses to some Buz routes prior to Covid.

20 mins or better is achievable considering the infrastructure and resource constraints. That's after they remove the level crossings. Considering it takes them 2 years to remove one level crossing, it will take a long time.

Disagree. I'll set out the reasoning why below, but IMO you have the same trains per hour in peak as in off-peak at least for the KR line.

Kippa-Ring Example

Six trains per hour depart Kippa-Ring in the am, which arrive at Central before 9 am.

So a train every 10 min, towards the city. At the same time, two trains going towards Kippa-Ring on the return path.

So 8 trains per hour on the tracks.

In the off-peak if 4 trains are going towards the Brisbane CBD and 4 trains are on the return path to Kippa-Ring, we also get 8 trains per hour.

Conclusion - No difference.

Perth

Perth has a number of older lines which have level crossings on them. They run 4 trains in both directions, all day, giving 8 trains/hour. See image ---> https://maps.app.goo.gl/8z4VxF6DXiFABVXZA

Have no issues to report from my travels there last year.

QuoteDo they have enough in the transport budget to increase train frequency, being  bi directional all day every day or even weekdays, as well as the big infrastructure build required before the Olympics?

Depends on where they want to put their our money. Issue is capital allocation. Incremental service improvements are the quickest and cheapest improvement you could make, far cheaper than capital works projects, deliverable in the immediate term, and with far less risk.

Current QLD infrastructure projects tend to overrun by 1.5-2x. I'm not aware of comparable overruns on bus or train labour operations.

Very hard to get bus drivers at the moment. It's been in the news. You would need extensive recruitment drive for 15 mins or better for trains  plus the infrastructure and resourcing requirements. Perth, SA and Vic all have the advantage of Driver only networks to increase frequency in a responsible economical way. They have also improved their networks over the last 10 - 15 years removing level crossings and alike to achieve these goals.

Moving to the buses.

Apparently this year is the year we will get more action on the proposed BCC and Translink bus improvements in Brisbane. Hopefully something I guess.

^ Fairly obvious that the southside bus changes will coincide with the launch of the M1 and M2 routes. That is, as HTG pointed out, half the point. Most expensive bus reform ever!
For much the same reason - giving Metro some clear air - I think they're unlikely to fix the northside anytime soon. We could hope for a BUZ 350 or similar but that will only happen under local pressure (unlikely in that part of town).

Re QR - yes they need more drivers to run proper high frequency - all the more reason they need to be training more drivers yesterday, as it takes a while They've probably barely recovered from the previous driver debacle.

https://x.com/CrStuartJames/status/1743978806875238797?s=20

Quote from: verbatim9 on January 07, 2024, 11:19:55 AM

Quote from: #Metro on January 07, 2024, 10:59:05 AM

Quote from: Verbatim9Unlikely to get 15 mins or better on those two lines as it would cause too much train and road congestion along those lines with boom gates down etc .. That's a train every three mins. The Council did add more peak buses to some Buz routes prior to Covid.

20 mins or better is achievable considering the infrastructure and resource constraints. That's after they remove the level crossings. Considering it takes them 2 years to remove one level crossing, it will take a long time.

Disagree. I'll set out the reasoning why below, but IMO you have the same trains per hour in peak as in off-peak at least for the KR line.

Kippa-Ring Example

Six trains per hour depart Kippa-Ring in the am, which arrive at Central before 9 am.

So a train every 10 min, towards the city. At the same time, two trains going towards Kippa-Ring on the return path.

So 8 trains per hour on the tracks.

In the off-peak if 4 trains are going towards the Brisbane CBD and 4 trains are on the return path to Kippa-Ring, we also get 8 trains per hour.

Conclusion - No difference.

Perth

Perth has a number of older lines which have level crossings on them. They run 4 trains in both directions, all day, giving 8 trains/hour. See image ---> https://maps.app.goo.gl/8z4VxF6DXiFABVXZA

Have no issues to report from my travels there last year.

QuoteDo they have enough in the transport budget to increase train frequency, being  bi directional all day every day or even weekdays, as well as the big infrastructure build required before the Olympics?

Depends on where they want to put their our money. Issue is capital allocation. Incremental service improvements are the quickest and cheapest improvement you could make, far cheaper than capital works projects, deliverable in the immediate term, and with far less risk.

Current QLD infrastructure projects tend to overrun by 1.5-2x. I'm not aware of comparable overruns on bus or train labour operations.

Very hard to get bus drivers at the moment. It's been in the news. You would need extensive recruitment drive for 15 mins or better for trains  plus the infrastructure and resourcing requirements. Perth, SA and Vic all have the advantage of Driver only networks to increase frequency in a responsible economical way. They have also improved their networks over the last 10 - 15 years removing level crossings and alike to achieve these goals.

Both of you really have no idea even though I clearly spell it out over multiple threads.

Bidi running? WTabsoluteF. Clutching at straws... just wtf. And. Stop with the level crossing BS. Carseldine, Sunshine and Lawnton. Train crosses are at these locations so downtime is quite minimal. Once again pollies out there making it look worse than it actually is. Doesn't also help when council upgrades the road to allow a higher capacity and at the same time inducing demand in the area (I forget who it was - I think it was the now current transport minister went on about how the footpath was now unsafe to use for pedestrians because of recent developments in the area so cars were suddenly now parking on it/next to it on the grass verge so the car park expansion had to be fast tracked while totally ignoring the fact cars had been doing it for over a decade - google maps even has cars parked there). Same with Sherwood. Outbound trains get red signals on approach so they time with the inbound cross. Same with out of service runs. They will hold outside the station and only get a green once the outbound train overtakes and the inbound train rocks up with the out of service train either running via Tennyson or ducks in behind the all stopper at Corinda.

DOO is just an excuse that people clutch at to make them seem that they know what they are talking about. Japan has a lot of DOO but they also have a vast amount of station staff and their fair share of 2 man crews. If your network was well run it wouldn't matter if it was DOO or not. Plus DOO is decades away. For starters none of the trains are DOO compliant. The NGRs were designed for DOO but were built for operations on a non DOO network which made them non DOO compliant. They would require once again more significant modifications at the cab ends to enable this which then raises the issue of toilet access along with station access. QTMP are expected to be designed for DOO with space at the cab ends and middle for wheelchair access. Toilet location is still being debated but will more than likely be back at the ends. Future proofing for 9 car is to be established but cost will play a part (not going to happen now but NGRs were designed such that another 3 cars could be inserted into the middle at a later date so I don't see why QTMP wouldn't aswell). In reality the only line that would go DOO would be Gold Coast-Sunshine Coast via CRR when ETCS has been fully rolled out with QTMP trains only at first but even then I suspect station staff would be at stations most to enable faster boardings so would getting rid of the guard really be such a cost reduction.

Brisbane does have enough bus drivers. Problem is the network is very very inefficient and poorly designed so drivers and vehicles are spread too wide and thin thus creating its own driver problem. As I highlighted before the 335 simply keeps getting extended further and further. Used to terminate at Dorville road before Taigum before Boondall (in peak 335/339 ran express past Westfield Chermside on Webster road but it also ran out of service with passengers to form the college green loop which made ticketing for it quite unusual) before it was then moved to Sandgate station. The same can be said for many Northside routes. The P332. What the hell  was the point of that extension??? The 338/357/359 route mess was due to vehicle positioning with old depots and fleets. Ascot and Sandgate are gone but the route mess remains. Not to mention Gympie road still having 24 services between 10-11pm every single night meanwhile routes across the Northside during the day are mostly hourly. Remember the fun game name all the routes north of Chermside that runs an off peak frequency of or better than 30 minutes not including the 2 buz routes. Funny how the winner is HBL with the 680

Funding is a very deep, deep, DEEP complex topic and it's not as simple as the usuals here make it out as a simple fix. Take the NGR's. Most people think crews are the biggest expense when it's actually the PSA. Sure say if there are enough drivers. That's one piece of the puzzle. What about PSA requirements. Is one staff member enough or are two staff required or maybe 3 staff for the one station required? Why are PSA even required in the first place? Well they speed up dwell times. Take the Nambour line or Doomben line. Actually let's run with the Doomben line as this is a common problem. One wheelchair user or someone requiring assistance can delay the entire sub line at Eagle Junction. All outbound and inbound on the subs are stopped because one wheelchair user needed to board and it took the guard a little longer to walk and assist the passenger before walking back and clearing the train for departure. Usually this results in the Doomben-City service then running express Eagle Junction to Bowen Hills. It can also result in the train behind doing the same move so they both can maintain the slot through the CBD which allows them to maintain their slot to cross at Park Road and Yeerongpilly. This move is repeated on the Nambour line with single track, crosses and reversing backwards into Eudlo. That's just PSA for NGR's. Sectorisation hasn't taken place yet but when it does particular lines will actually see a drop in PSAs. This will mostly be seen on the Cleveland line as NGRs will be a rarity out that way post CRR. Of course you have driver and guard. Then comes patronage. Walk up and feeder patronage along with trip generators. But the patronage data is flawed due to the zone structure and same platform transfers with frequency (ask yourself how has Northgate station seen such a massive patronage uptake while surrounding stations and bus services have dipped massively). And finally justification. Justification based on the flawed patronage data.

Realistically there aren't going to be any real major service improvements in rail until CRR is online and the fleet has stabilised. We all know CRR has said this and that but they aren't the ones that need to secure voters. Rollingstock uncertainty is still a massive problem that has stemmed from the privatisation of QR and multiple governments using it as a political tool for votes. It's interesting how quiet 3 car running from all sides of politics is now that industrial action can't be blamed. Tags on the sides of trains was a big visual factor for it but still 3 car Brisbane-Rosewood or Ferny Grove services make peak hour appearances regularly. The government isn't going to promise additional services knowing it can sustain them as it will be used by the opposition. Same with the opposition. They won't jump at service increases because they know the deal and timelines. They know they can also open themselves up to previous short comings should they tackle some issues harder. They'll also try to avoid criticism of BCC's network as it's also a liberal government so more than likely tip toeing the same line and using Metro as a means before the bus network can be changed. There's the greens but they don't really seem to know much. I don't have anything against them but so far their policies are all talk with little substance. Best you can hope for is bus network improvements but even then I don't expect anything until Metro is operational. Its a real sh%t show that we have going here and it's not going to get better any time soon. The Gold bus is just around the corner now so that's where all your extra drivers are going to end up.

Check out the Ipswich workshops at the moment. You can find retired ICE trains, you can see some retired EMUs and you can also find a couple dusty SMU220 just sitting outside in the sun. Not SMU200s. SMU220s.

QuoteBoth of you really have no idea even though I clearly spell it out over multiple threads.

No, the purpose of train operator is to run trains. The current situation is unacceptable:

Service improvement will be in play for 2024 without doubt.  The political pressure leading up to #qldvotes2024 and the problems with PT in SEQ will feature prominently. Infrastructure is part of it but much more can and should be done with service improvements. Focus also needs to be directed on fixing up the existing rail network as much as new lines/extensions as well.

We all know the precarious situation with the rolling stock, and it is a very sad indictment on transport policy over the last 15 years or so.  Shame shame shame!

Not denying that Metro but that's not how public transport is run here. It's all a political tool for state and local government. Not a public service tool. Explain why BCC spend $30 million on top of the translink bus contract if there is nothing wrong with it? Why did they previously market that as providing extra services for residents? Expecting the government to simply go this line will get 4tph or someone saying I'll promise to get 4tph is simply lying. Both parties know this. They know the timelines. They know the issues with the current railway fleet. And they both know it opens their party up to opportunities for the opposition to score with voters. None of them are going to admit to failures. Same with the bus network in Brisbane. You won't get liberal state going against liberal council. And we all know the current mess of translink being understaffed and underfunded within tmr.

We also saw Mark Bailey promising extra station staff to replace those cut by the lnp. What we didn't hear was those station staff were for the NGR's to ensure they could maintain slots in the city. With NGRs being dedicated for Beenleigh/Gold Coast where are those extra PSA coming from? Will the lnp once again be cutting your local station staff numbers even though NGR no longer use that line or will we see a big recruitment drive.

As I have said it's a deep and complicated mess we are in. I expect there to be some play with transport but on the minor side of things. The current government will hit hard home on the current projects such as the M1 upgrade, Coomera bypass, bruce Highway upgrade at Cairns/Gympie/Bald Hills/elsewhere, Rocky ring road etc, CRR/QTMP/Logan rail upgrade etc. Maybe a couple wildcard projects to sweeten the deal. I also expect the opposition to target other political areas such as crime, cost of living, health and housing which affect people more and get more media attention than how many trains or buses come past in the off peak or on the weekend.

QuoteAs I have said it's a deep and complicated mess we are in.

Making a long post every few days, focusing heavily on the northside, saying that its a big and difficult problem to solve, isn't going to fix anything.

The same antics applies to the Southside and west side. I was just using examples that were well known. The 335 was one of the worst routes for non OTP penalties requiring BCC to pay drivers.

Agree with Gazza.

Transperth rail network doubled in size in 2007 with the completion of NewMetroRail. That's 70 km of new railway. Kippa-Ring was 12 km by comparison.

PTA organised and delivered construction, new trains and new services. One would imagine new staff would have been hired to drive the new line given its length.

Timetable didn't fall over, trains were DDA compliant, no known signalling system issues, and adequate trains and staff to make it all work.

Also opened Airport line, and currently working on Ellenbrook line. Will all be 15 min I believe from opening day. Unlike say, our CRR.

Also built a train manufacturing plant (assembly not full manufacture). Have new C class trains.

And the former Westrail organisation had its freight operations split out and privatised for $585 million (year 2000 figures) similar to Queensland. And it didn't seem to hobble their passenger rail operations.

Rail operations have been integrated with TransPerth since 1974 (formerly the MTT). Seems to avoid 'interface' issues between organisations.

Good news is service improvement doesn't require this level of works.

What needs to happen to achieve 15 min off-peak on both Kippa-Ring and Shorncliffe/Sandgate?

Notes

New Metro Rail
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_MetroRail

WA rail freight sale nets $585m
https://www.afr.com/companies/wa-rail-freight-sale-nets-585m-20001031-k9pyj

QuoteWhat needs to happen to achieve 15 min off-peak on both Kippa-Ring and Shorncliffe/Sandgate?

Infrastructure? Nothing. Maybe additional PSA for NGR reliability and quick swaps at Shorncliffe.

Political motive however is something completely different. Especially with infrastructure due.

And you can't compare the privatisation of the two. Two completely different operations. ARG bought WestRail operations. Queensland Rail National (still part of Queensland Rail and the Queensland State Government) then bought ARG a few years later and sent 7 or 8 QR 2300 class locos over there to really make some money. This was also on top of several other railway operators and trucking operators they had bought in recent years before and after along with scoring millions of dollars in contracts including a 100 million ARTC rail grinding contract.

I think we've long identified that the governance issues are the real problem here - these are what lead to botched delivery of the below and above rail assets.

My view is QR should be completely abolished, blown up and burned down.  We need the same public sector agency running / procuring all public passenger transport operations, and anything needed to deliver those.  The current arrangements don't work properly and haven't for decades. 

I don't see any pressing need to privatise QR - given the barriers to entry there is probably no compelling reason for that (compared with bus or ferry operations).  The railways just need to be run "in-house" by the same mob that runs everything.

CRRDA should also be merged into that body as an independent arm and made responsible for delivery of all the major passenger transport projects - perways, stations, fleet (trains, trams, buses and ferries) and all the associated bits and bobs. 

^ Some good suggestions there SurfRail.

Blue team absorbed the TTA into TMR a while ago. The previous authority from the 1980's the QLD Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) had a similar fate for similar reasons. They were talking about a bus-train interchange at Indooroopilly 50 years ago. BCC didn't want it apparently.

Looking at the PTA setup, you can see just how few people constitute the management of the agency.





The QR board is about seven members, this is 14 or so members. It really is in keeping with the organisational structure suggested by PT Academic Paul Mees in his book Transport for Suburbia.

Notes
1. Images from WA Public Transport Authority https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/about-us/our-role/organisational-structure

2. Transport For Suburbia (2010, Book) by Paul Mees https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4777260