Article: Commuters spent 28 days waiting for trains last year

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From the Courier Mail click here!

Commuters spent 28 days waiting for trains last year

Commuters spent 28 days waiting for trains last year
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Ursula Heger

November 10, 2009 12:00am

COMMUTERS spent the equivalent of 28 days waiting for delayed or cancelled peak hour trains on the southeast's Citytrain network last year.

Figures released under Right to Information laws show trains were delayed an agonising 691 hours across the network last financial year, with more than 4960 late or cancelled trains.

Commuter groups yesterday said the figures ? which follow a recent spate of lengthy passenger delays ? confirmed the deteriorating state of the region's train network.

But Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the delays detailed in the RTI documents were cumulative and the actual wait across the network was much lower.

"Using the figure of 28 days, the amount of time lost in 2008-09 due to all causes, represents around 0.78 per cent of the total peak train running time," she said.

The biggest cause of delays to trains on the network was infrastructure faults, including track or signal failures along the lines, or speed restrictions imposed on trains.

Speed restrictions are imposed on trains on the network if extreme heat poses a risk of tracks buckling, work is being undertaken on tracks nearby, if non-urgent work has not been completed, or if there is a police incident on the lines.

Queensland Rail yesterday apologised for any delays, and admitted recent faults had occurred in "critical locations" and compounded delays to other trains.

Commuter advocacy group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said expenditure on maintenance was not keeping up with expansion of the track, and new safety procedures would make delays worse.

"It would appear that the maintenance budget is not sufficient. The evidence of that is increasing unreliability of the system," he said.

"The actual track has increased considerably, which also requires extra signal systems ? all of which require maintenance." The increasing size of the network meant extra maintenance.

QR Network general manager Robert Moffat denied track maintenance was not adequate, with the rail provider's budget for maintenance increasing from $49 million to $55.3 million in the past two financial years.

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The biggest cause of delays to trains on the network was infrastructure faults, including track or signal failures along the lines, or speed restrictions imposed on trains ...

We have made the point many times, that QR Passenger is not responsible for the majority of factors impacting on deteriorating on time train performance.

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