Ministerial Statement - New trains, new timetable 27 May 2007

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Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie

27 May 2007

New trains, new timetable

The first of 44 new QR Citytrains have had their final test run before being
pressed into service on the Gold Coast tomorrow morning.

Premier Peter Beattie and Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Paul Lucas,
were on board as the new carriages were put through their paces.

"These are state of the art trains and they hit the tracks on the Gold Coast
tomorrow morning to significantly boost the number of seats on peak
services," Mr Beattie said.

"We're putting two, three car sets on-line to provide more than 800 extra
seats for Gold Coast commuters.

"More trains are a key election commitment for my Government - and we're
delivering," Mr Beattie said.

The new trains will allow QR to add another two services on the Gold Coast
line with the maiden run departing from Robina station at 7.38 am tomorrow
(Monday).

Mr Beattie said the new Citytrains were being built in Maryborough by
EDIRail and Bombardier Transportation.

"They're sleek and can reach a top speed of 130 km/h more quickly than
existing trains on the network.

"Stopping power has been improved and they're more comfortable with bigger
seats, more leg room, toilets, plenty of space for luggage, and no doors
between carriages.

"Technology hasn't been left out of the equation either with improved CCTV
security systems and LED screens inside every carriage for up to the minute
journey information.

"We will spend over $500 million to deliver 44 new three car train sets by
the end of 2010," Mr Beattie said.

Mr Lucas said the new rolling stock would boost QR's fleet by 30% - that
means an extra 30,000 extra seats a day across the network.

"Twenty-two sets will be dedicated to the Gold and Sunshine Coast lines with
the remainder to be spread over the suburban Brisbane network," Mr Lucas
said.

"The roll out will give priority to lines with the highest demand.

"It's another instalment in a multi million dollar overhaul of rail services
for the Gold Coast," Mr Lucas said.

"In addition to new trains, we are also laying more tracks with work already
started on a third line from Salisbury to Kuraby.

"We've doubled the tracks on the Ormeau to Coomera link on time and on
budget and the duplication of the Helensvale to Robina section is underway.

"There are plans in train to extend the line even further south to Varsity
Lakes.

"This brings our total investment for Gold Coast rail to more than $350
million on almost 37 kilometres of track and 26 rail bridges for Gold Coast
commuters.

"It demonstrates the Queensland Government's continued commitment to
boosting public transport to meet the demands of Australia's fastest growing
region.

"Already public transport patronage has surged by more than 27 per cent
since the introduction of Translink in 2004. The new trains will go a long
way to ensuring the system keeps pace with demand," Mr Lucas said.

South East Queensland's sleek new passenger train fleet will be housed in a
large specially built stabling yard at Mayne. The stabling yard will provide
security for the trains at night and while they are not in service.

Mr Beattie said the new yard, which was officially opened today, had many
state of the art features, including a new graffiti-removal facility, which
makes it one of the most efficient and safety-conscious in Australia.

"Once commissioned, the graffiti removal facility has the potential to slash
water use by 80 per cent when removing graffiti," Mr Beattie said.

"Stage One of the stabling yards cost $11.5 million. The second stage
commits another $7 million in State Government funding to build an extension
to the yard.

"The new facility makes QRs Citytrain operation more efficient.

"The centralised location of trains allows more efficient scheduling, as
trains have less distance to travel at the start and end of each day," Mr
Beattie said.

Mr Lucas said the new graffiti removal facility was a heavy duty cleaning
area using special power hoses to quickly remove graffiti and reduce the
time that trains are inactive.

"Improved security at the yard also reduces the likelihood of graffiti and
other damage to the trains when they are stabled," Mr Lucas said.

"QR is finding it increasingly difficult to stable trains in outer Brisbane
locations due to noise complaints from residents. By increasing the capacity
of Mayne Yard, QR eliminates the need to stable more trains at these
locations," Mr Lucas said.