Article: Train cancellations 'will be reduced'

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Train cancellations 'will be reduced'

Train cancellations 'will be reduced'
Tony Moore | January 11, 2008 - 1:24PM

Queensland Rail has employed 50 new staff in a bid to reduce train service cancellations - 1800 of which were endured by commuters between July and November last year.

On Christmas Eve, Queensland Rail employed 24 new train drivers and 24 new rail guards to tackle the problem.

However, the State Opposition still wants an independent inquiry into staffing and maintenance on Brisbane's Citytrain network, after power failures on the Cleveland line earlier this week forced commuters.

Shadow Transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said QR had to cut 350 commuter services each month.

QR statistics, provided today, showed the Opposition was correct, with 1809 train services cancelled in the five months between July and November 2007 - representing 1.67 per cent of total Citytrain services.

That figure - more than 360 cancellations each month - was blamed on the flu, which forced many staff to take sick leave, QR said.

"The majority of these cancellations were between July and October 2007 which coincided with one of Queensland's worst flu seasons," a spokeswoman for Transport Minister John Mickel said.

"Like many other organisations, QR experienced a large increase in staff reporting ill.

"This resulted in an increase in pressure on resources and the cancellation of a number of services."

Train services were also cancelled because of "uncontrollable issues" such as extreme weather conditions, suspicious packages being left at stations, cars colliding with boom gates and damage to rail bridge overpasses when they have been struck by trucks and other vehicles.

QR recently introduced a "peak performance summary" which appears on the Citytrain website , measuring how many Citytrains arrive on time during peak hour.

Mr Nicholls has questioned whether QR was completing the maintenance of the Citytrain network.

He said answers to questions he asked "on notice" last year showed Queensland Rail was underspending to a small degree on rail maintenance on the Citytrain network.

In 2005/06, QR allocated $62.32 million for its Citytrain maintenance program and spent $59.52 million, leaving a moderate $2.8 million of maintenance work to be completed in the 2006/07 year.

In the 2006/07 year statewide Queensland Rail carried out $300 million worth of maintenance from a budget of $307 million.

The last maintenance check on the Cleveland rail line, which suffered the power failure this week, was just before Christmas, on December 12.

No faults were found, with QR still to determine the exact cause of the power failure.

"Early indications point to the mechanical failure of an insulator," a QR spokeswoman said.

"Equipment has been sent away for further expert analysis."

The overhead "traction network" of the inner city rail network is checked every week from Roma Street to Bowen Hills, while the rest of the Citytrain is checked every 12 weeks.

QR said the freight train derailment at Petrie in December last year was not a maintenance issue, with early investigations indicating a mechanical failure on one of the wagons.

[ozbob]

A failure to maintain adequate staff levels was the root cause, flu a minor issue for a short time.

See --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=362.0

Good to see more crew on track and hopefully commuters wont be having out of pocket expenditure for childcare extensions, urgent taxis and so forth when their services cancelled as for 2007.