Redcliffe Peninsula line & associated changes - rail

[BrizCommuter]

Not looking forward to the new timetables - overcrowded services highly likely! BrizCommuter predicted this situation over a year ago and was shot down in flames for being negative!

[ozbob]

Not looking forward to the new timetables - overcrowded services highly likely! BrizCommuter predicted this situation over a year ago and was shot down in flames for being negative!

Bit of prophecy here Briz > Tuesday, June 16, 2015 BrizCommuter
Moreton Bay Rail Link - not enough trains?

... Thus MBRL could follow the list of SE Queensland infrastructure implementation disasters caused by p%ss poor planning, and clueless politicians ...

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland Rail chief's mea culpa on cancellations

The chief executive of Queensland Rail has blasted her organisation's performance after more than 100 Citytrain services were cancelled because of a lack of crew.

QR boss Helen Gluer said she "unreservedly" apologised for Friday's cancellations, which were only notified late on Thursday, and cited the recent opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line as the main reason for the debacle.

Ms Gluer said the "unacceptable customer service" was all down to QR being short-staffed and caught out.

"The performance of Queensland Rail since the new Redcliffe Peninsula line opened has been unacceptable and, from our customers' perspective, totally unacceptable," she said.

"... We know now we had unrealistic assumptions on how much train crew we did need to run this new timetable."

An interim timetable would be released over the next few days, Ms Gluer said, while more drivers and guards were trained to the extent of being "route ready" for the new Redcliffe Peninsula line.

"We can't say for certain how long the training will take, because all drivers and guards are different in terms of the amount of training they need to do that," she said.

In the meantime, Ms Gluer said she put up her hand to take responsibility for the problems.

"This is my fault, this is Queensland Rail's fault and we had unrealistic expectations of what crewing we needed to actually deliver this timetable," she said.

Ms Gluer said QR was understaffed and needed about another 20 drivers to be able to meet all services.

"But that's a simplistic answer – so my apologies for that – to a more complex question, because the answer is staff have got to be able to have sufficient leisure time and down time from a rail safety sense," she said.

Current route information could be found at the Translink website.

Queensland Liberal National Party opposition transport spokesman Andrew Powell said Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe needed to take responsibility for the cancellations.

"With commuters facing yet another day of heavy delays, the least they deserve is an explanation from the minister around the cause of the outages," he said.

"Instead, Labor has been hiding behind TransLink and Queensland Rail, sending them out to handle media and take the heat.

"The Redcliffe Peninsula Line has been a long time coming. Where was the minister and why weren't proper staffing provisions put in place to ensure a smooth transition?"

For his part, Mr Hinchliffe said he was "clearly unhappy" with the level of service provided by QR in recent weeks.

"(On Friday) morning I convened a meeting of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail to be briefed on these cancellations, their cause and the measures being proposed to restore the high level of service expected by the Queensland government," he said.

"Following that meeting, I have instructed the chair of Queensland Rail to call an urgent meeting of the board this weekend.

"I have asked the Queensland Rail board to satisfy itself that the executive leadership team has put in place an appropriate interim arrangement to restore continuity of services across the entire network.

"Further, I have asked the board to advise me directly on any resourcing required to maintain high levels of service, including any impact made by staffing reductions to train crew and training personnel under the former government."

The Rail Tram and Bus Union, meanwhile, levelled the blame squarely at the former LNP Newman government.

"The secret plans of (Tim) Nicholls and (Scott) Emerson to privatise this publicly owned asset have backfired spectacularly today with a train driver shortage causing delays on networks," RTBU Queensland state secretary Owen Doogan said.

" ... The secret plans of (Tim) Nicholls and (Scott) Emerson to privatise this publicly owned asset have backfired spectacularly today with a train driver shortage causing delays on networks," RTBU Queensland state secretary Owen Doogan said. "

A lot of truth in this statement .. past and present Governments have simply failed ...

And the Minister has finally indicated that actions are being taken. 

" ... For his part, Mr Hinchliffe said he was "clearly unhappy" with the level of service provided by QR in recent weeks.

"(On Friday) morning I convened a meeting of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail to be briefed on these cancellations, their cause and the measures being proposed to restore the high level of service expected by the Queensland government," he said.

"Following that meeting, I have instructed the chair of Queensland Rail to call an urgent meeting of the board this weekend.

"I have asked the Queensland Rail board to satisfy itself that the executive leadership team has put in place an appropriate interim arrangement to restore continuity of services across the entire network.

"Further, I have asked the board to advise me directly on any resourcing required to maintain high levels of service, including any impact made by staffing reductions to train crew and training personnel under the former government. ... "

After the Labor mob were elected nothing much was done.  Rather ineffective transport portfolio for a year or so.  Mr Hinchliffe has had a big big deficit to catch up on and this fuk-up is just a measure of it.

Is this all a bad dream? 

[tazzer9]

The only thing QR can do now is put out job notices for train crew.   Its clear that once all the current drivers are trained on the RPL and the new petrie tracks, there  still isn't much room to manoeuvre and certainly nothing available for any form of service expansion.

[STB]

I wonder if QR will break their policy of only hiring train drivers internally within the organisation?  Honestly, they should put out an open hiring.

[#Metro]

I wonder if QR will break their policy of only hiring train drivers internally within the organisation?  Honestly, they should put out an open hiring.

I think it is fair that people be treated equally. Should be open to all IMHO.

[#Metro]

After the Labor mob were elected nothing much was done.  Rather ineffective transport portfolio for a year or so.  Mr Hinchliffe has had a big big deficit to catch up on and this fuk-up is just a measure of it.

Labor was asleep at the wheel and then the car crashed... sums it up pretty much.

They had an additional 6 months to train, they have been in gov't for long enough to hire and train people. But I guess they wanted to do nothing and let things "manage themselves". Well this is the outcome.

Same with the bus network really - completely reactive non-management. Wait until something goes wrong rather than be preventative about things.

Let's hope they roll out ATP and DOO after that.

[BrizCommuter]

Queensland Rail's Epic Fail
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/redcliffe-peninsula-line-queensland.html

There will be another blog post when QR announce (probably at the very last minute) the service cuts that we will probably have to suffer for some time. 

[HappyTrainGuy]

Vast majority of the current problems can be traced back to the Newman government's 3 year recruitment freeze and razor gang tactics.

Beat me too it.

[#Metro]

QR for lack of forward planning.
The LNP Newman Government for sacking driver trainers and freezing recruitment, plus delays to the NGR trains. It is alleged that the Newman government was planning on privatising QR and was setting it up to fail. 
The ALP Palaszczuk Government for not undoing the staffing issues from the Newman Government, even with a 6 month delay to Redcliffe Peninsula Line. 
The ALP Bligh Government for not ordering extra previous generation trains.

3-year posture political terms
Revolving door ministers and MPs
Non-management of essential public systems - "ah, it will run itself"
Cutting corners on everything
Wait for thing to break and then fix - should be the other way around, replace and prevent before failure

It all adds up!

Gov't definitely to be booted, hard.

[BrizCommuter]

I'd love to see Campbell Newman locked up (and the key thrown away) for all of the issues that he has caused Queensland. Shame it will never happen.

[HappyTrainGuy]

I'd love to see Campbell Newman locked up (and the key thrown away) for all of the issues that he has caused Queensland. Shame it will never happen.

Also adding some extra points. It wasn't just train crew that bore the brunt of the Newman government razor in trying to slash 530 odd something jobs (about 8% of the employees). Remember the onboard cleaners customer service attendants? Station staff. As too were many of the young apprentices. Many also jumped at the redundancy packages.

[petey3801]

Why does driver training have to be held on a weekday, and in particular, during AM & PM peaks?

This seems to be getting misunderstood by most people. All training is being conducted on revenue services. No drivers are being taken off shifts to be trained on the RPL. What is happening is tutors and (some) RPL qualified drivers are being taken off shifts in order to train and pilot drivers (who are not qualified in RPL) across the line. While it is a relatively easy line to learn, generally drivers will want/need several trips across the line (in daytime and nighttime) before they are confident to sign for the route. And this depends on how often each driver gets a shift that goes out to Kippa Ring.

After the Labor mob were elected nothing much was done.

Yes and no. There was a fair amount of work being done behind the scenes. Guard and driver recruitment/schools started within a few months of Labor coming back to power and the recruitment freeze ending.
Main problem was a lack of trainers to train the drivers! So tutors needed to be recruited (by memory I think there was a delay here due to restrictions on how soon new tutors could be recruited after the razor gang 'demotion' of tutors back to drivers).

The only thing QR can do now is put out job notices for train crew.   Its clear that once all the current drivers are trained on the RPL and the new petrie tracks, there  still isn't much room to manoeuvre and certainly nothing available for any form of service expansion.

There won't be a lot of wiggle room, but there are several driver schools in the pipeline waiting to start as soon as tutors become available, as well as a full pipeline of schools throughout the whole of next year (I believe).

I wonder if QR will break their policy of only hiring train drivers internally within the organisation?  Honestly, they should put out an open hiring.

I think it is fair that people be treated equally. Should be open to all IMHO.

It's not about being treated equally, it is about qualifications and training. When the current recruitment system is working as it should, it works fairly well. External applicants to QR (outside traincrew generally); Internal recruitment to guard; Guard to driver.
There are several reasons for the guard to driver recruitment process, such as:
- Guards are used to the shiftwork required in traincrew, as they already do it;
- Guards already have some safeworking qualifications, therefore have prior knowledge of workings and doesn't take as long to train;
- Guards know the driver role, so know whether they are interested in becoming a driver (therefore much less chance of spending all the time and money training someone just for them to decide the role isn't for them).;
- Guards already have knowledge of the network, so there is the possibility of faster training once again.
There are others, but these are some of the bigger ones.

They had an additional 6 months to train, they have been in gov't for long enough to hire and train people. But I guess they wanted to do nothing and let things "manage themselves". Well this is the outcome.

As said above, there were things happening behind the scenes, but these things take time. They needed to recruit tutors (takes a couple months), train said tutors (another few months), recruit drivers (couple months) and train them (average of around 12 months), recruit and train guards to backfill positions from those who went to driver, etc.etc.etc.
It all takes time and the vast majority of this, the government doesn't have a hand in anyway (apart from possibly approving the budget for the training).

What is currently happening is the outcome of government razor gangs who rip the heart out of organisations without thinking of the future needs of those organisations.

Let's hope they roll out ATP and DOO after that.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation, but anyway. Guards will be around for at least the next 4 years, minimum, with the current traincrew agreement being negotiated. Also, as I told you elsewhere, DOO is nowhere near the be all and end all policy that you seem to think it is, but that is a discussion for another thread.


With regards to the interim timetable that is being working on for off-peak (I imagine peak will stay basically as-is), my guess is:
Northgate - Cannon Hill services dumped with Kippa Ring and/or Caboolture/Nambour trains stopping all stations Northgate - Bowen Hills and vice versa;
Possible dumping of the Coopers Plains services, unsure whether they will dump the 15min Ferny Grove services or not to be honest.
That's probably the sum of the changes that will happen I think. Doubt they would need to do much more than that, but I don't know for sure.

I'd love to see Campbell Newman locked up (and the key thrown away) for all of the issues that he has caused Queensland. Shame it will never happen.

Completely agree.

[BrizCommuter]

Why does driver training have to be held on a weekday, and in particular, during AM & PM peaks?

This seems to be getting misunderstood by most people. All training is being conducted on revenue services. No drivers are being taken off shifts to be trained on the RPL. What is happening is tutors and (some) RPL qualified drivers are being taken off shifts in order to train and pilot drivers (who are not qualified in RPL) across the line. While it is a relatively easy line to learn, generally drivers will want/need several trips across the line (in daytime and nighttime) before they are confident to sign for the route. And this depends on how often each driver gets a shift that goes out to Kippa Ring.

After the Labor mob were elected nothing much was done.

Yes and no. There was a fair amount of work being done behind the scenes. Guard and driver recruitment/schools started within a few months of Labor coming back to power and the recruitment freeze ending.
Main problem was a lack of trainers to train the drivers! So tutors needed to be recruited (by memory I think there was a delay here due to restrictions on how soon new tutors could be recruited after the razor gang 'demotion' of tutors back to drivers).

The only thing QR can do now is put out job notices for train crew.   Its clear that once all the current drivers are trained on the RPL and the new petrie tracks, there  still isn't much room to manoeuvre and certainly nothing available for any form of service expansion.

There won't be a lot of wiggle room, but there are several driver schools in the pipeline waiting to start as soon as tutors become available, as well as a full pipeline of schools throughout the whole of next year (I believe).

I wonder if QR will break their policy of only hiring train drivers internally within the organisation?  Honestly, they should put out an open hiring.

I think it is fair that people be treated equally. Should be open to all IMHO.

It's not about being treated equally, it is about qualifications and training. When the current recruitment system is working as it should, it works fairly well. External applicants to QR (outside traincrew generally); Internal recruitment to guard; Guard to driver.
There are several reasons for the guard to driver recruitment process, such as:
- Guards are used to the shiftwork required in traincrew, as they already do it;
- Guards already have some safeworking qualifications, therefore have prior knowledge of workings and doesn't take as long to train;
- Guards know the driver role, so know whether they are interested in becoming a driver (therefore much less chance of spending all the time and money training someone just for them to decide the role isn't for them).;
- Guards already have knowledge of the network, so there is the possibility of faster training once again.
There are others, but these are some of the bigger ones.

They had an additional 6 months to train, they have been in gov't for long enough to hire and train people. But I guess they wanted to do nothing and let things "manage themselves". Well this is the outcome.

As said above, there were things happening behind the scenes, but these things take time. They needed to recruit tutors (takes a couple months), train said tutors (another few months), recruit drivers (couple months) and train them (average of around 12 months), recruit and train guards to backfill positions from those who went to driver, etc.etc.etc.
It all takes time and the vast majority of this, the government doesn't have a hand in anyway (apart from possibly approving the budget for the training).

What is currently happening is the outcome of government razor gangs who rip the heart out of organisations without thinking of the future needs of those organisations.

Let's hope they roll out ATP and DOO after that.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation, but anyway. Guards will be around for at least the next 4 years, minimum, with the current traincrew agreement being negotiated. Also, as I told you elsewhere, DOO is nowhere near the be all and end all policy that you seem to think it is, but that is a discussion for another thread.


With regards to the interim timetable that is being working on for off-peak (I imagine peak will stay basically as-is), my guess is:
Northgate - Cannon Hill services dumped with Kippa Ring and/or Caboolture/Nambour trains stopping all stations Northgate - Bowen Hills and vice versa;
Possible dumping of the Coopers Plains services, unsure whether they will dump the 15min Ferny Grove services or not to be honest.
That's probably the sum of the changes that will happen I think. Doubt they would need to do much more than that, but I don't know for sure.

I'd love to see Campbell Newman locked up (and the key thrown away) for all of the issues that he has caused Queensland. Shame it will never happen.

Completely agree.

BrizCommuter is concerned of some peak cuts - especially the 7:10am and 7:25am ex-FG services, and some of the pm peak Roma St-FG services.

[petey3801]

Don't know for sure whether there will be peak cuts, but I don't think there will be personally. Also, I think the news report made mention of 'off-peak' service cuts in the interim timetable, but I could be wrong! Hopefully we will soon see.

[tazzer9]

When v/line has its major issues like the vlocity wheel wear incident, they at least provided free  buses.  Whats the bet QR just culls services and says good luck and hopes for the best. 
If they do introduce an interim timetable, they should at least have frequent buses run direct from major stations like mitchelton, ferny grove, altandi, and morningside to the cbd and through the SE busway to boggo road.  If they make the buses free, people will consider the longer travel time.

[SurfRail]

I think this is sufficiently bad that a week's free travel would be a perfectly legitimate expectation.

[ozbob]

BrizCommuter:
Redcliffe Peninsula Line - Queensland Rail's Epic Fail
> https://t.co/YoqU89OnG0#qldpol
successive Govt fails add up .. pic.twitter.com/NQVr0GLTjo

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) October 21, 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

22nd October 2016

Finally some indication as to root causes of the rail failure

Good Morning,

We have noted the Minister for Transport's statement re the train service cancellations of late, viz:

STATEMENT

Late yesterday afternoon I was advised of the changes to the Queensland Rail network for today.

I am clearly unhappy with the level of service that has been provided to the public both today and in recent weeks.

This morning I convened a meeting of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail to be briefed on these cancellations, their cause and the measures being proposed to restore the high level of service expected by the Queensland Government.

Following that meeting I have instructed the Chair of Queensland Rail to call an urgent meeting of the Board this weekend.

I have asked the Queensland Rail Board to satisfy itself that the Executive Leadership Team has put in place an appropriate interim arrangement to restore continuity of services across the entire network.

Further, I have asked the Board to advise me directly on any resourcing required to maintain high levels of service, including any impact made by staffing reductions to train crew and training personnel under the former Government.

ENDS

There is an acknowledgement that cuts made to driver training positions under the previous LNP Government may have significantly contributed to lack of qualified train crew. In our view it is a significant factor.  It takes time to recover from   ' razor gang '  cuts which rip the heart out of organisations without proper consideration of the future needs of those organisations. Without adequate tutor drivers training train crew to be ' route ready ' is problematical.  It is also difficult to train new drivers in a timely manner.

The problems with the failure to service the  new timetables following the introduction of revenue services on the Redcliffe Peninsula line (RPL) just adds to a list of failures that have been championed by failed Governments of late.  The ongoing saga with Cross River Rail, the failure to properly reform the Brisbane bus network, the signalling issues with RPL and problems with the New Generation Trains highlight  gross incompetence and failed politics at the highest levels. The Newman Government was quite rightly rejected by Queensland for their failures.

It is the community that suffers in the end though, whilst incompetents pocket bonuses.  Hardly surprising the masses are turning .. who is next for the ' hall of political failure and has-beens ' ?

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ Attached: http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12435.msg181859#msg181859 ]

[ozbob]

Latest media:
Finally some indication as to root causes of the rail failure
> https://t.co/hpaiuT44eI#qldpol@QLDLabor @LNPQLD @QldGreens pic.twitter.com/NEcqcLjkKS

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) October 21, 2016

[ozbob]

.@QueenslandRail cancelled 10 per cent of its services in Brisbane because of a driver shortage @ErinEdwards7 #7News https://t.co/QPRbydYbj5

— 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) October 21, 2016

[#Metro]

It does take time, but it seems that they did not realise and thus did not sound the alarm bell. After all, the notice of cancellations seem to come just the night before!

I hope nobody in QR is being paid bonuses this year!

[ozbob]

I was contacted by a number of news outlets, including Erin from 7 news yesterday but could not participate directly (live) due to illness.

Thanks to FF for standing in on radio too (4BC).

I suppose the ' silver lining ' in all of this is that Queensland Rail will hopefully get back to a working functional complement of senior drivers (tutors, trainers and inspectors) and adequate crew numbers.  The impact of NGR and possible change to work practices will also add to the general burden.  It does seem we lurch from one problem to the next ..  shoddy politics is costly, very costly.

[tazzer9]

After all, the notice of cancellations seem to come just the night before!

This is the worst part IMHO.   They know they are going to have to cancel a heap of services well in advance, telling the public about them at the last minute is a big f*ck you.

[techblitz]

 

whilst incompetents pocket bonuses

After all the reports of trains sitting in limbo @ station platforms for 20 minutes while drivers change or trains pass etc.....the amount of lost income and lost family time for workers would be staggering......the minister should step up and try and get at least 1 day of free travel for QR customers. Apology letters from bigwigs mean nothing to the everyday affected commuter.

[ozbob]

After all, the notice of cancellations seem to come just the night before!

This is the worst part IMHO.   They know they are going to have to cancel a heap of services well in advance, telling the public about them at the last minute is a big f*ck you.

Sure is.  Queensland Rail would notify the authorities well in advance of what is occurring.  Nothing is released until Ministerial clearance is given is my guess. Then has to work its way through TransLink, such is the setup. This takes time and the end result is relatively late notice.

Attempts should be made to expedite the process.  I am confident that QR would have the interim timetable done by now.  Probably nothing would happen till Monday morning!   

[Gazza]

I wonder if this situation will be a watershed moment (Like Melbourne's summer of cancellations a few years back) where the publics patience finally runs out and the government reassesses its priorities and starts resourcing PT properly.

[BrizCommuter]

I wonder if this situation will be a watershed moment (Like Melbourne's summer of cancellations a few years back) where the publics patience finally runs out and the government reassesses its priorities and starts resourcing PT properly.

That would occur anywhere other than Queensland.

[petey3801]

Roster clerks were doing their best to fill as many jobs as possible, right up to Friday morning (and possibly throughout Friday where required) with Friday's shifts being altered even on Thursday night to reduce the amount of cancellations required.

[BrizCommuter]

Place your bets now on when the interim/backwards timetables will be published online?

[Arnz]

Arnz's bet is late Sunday night around midnight and is tipping that the Coopers Plains - Roma Street & Cannon Hill - Roma Street services may be cancelled temporarily, therefore downgrading the 15 min service to 30 min services between Buranda - Cannon Hill and Dutton Park - Coopers Plains.   

[ozbob]

http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/forcustomers/otr/dailyotr

[ozbob]

Place your bets now on when the interim/backwards timetables will be published online?

Well the authorities could try to release details tomorrow.

A suitable plan would be media coverage in the press tomorrow, with a Ministerial presser tomorrow morning to outline the details and so forth.

Revised timetable plan detailed on the TransLink website from tomorrow so that punters can plan out their travel.

That's what I would do. 

[ozbob]

7 News at 6pm: Train troubles prompt a crisis meeting. https://t.co/yi6Ing4GtH #7News pic.twitter.com/AoFtUfrnl4

— 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) October 22, 2016

^ this ' crisis meeting ' must be the urgent Board meeting directed by the Minister I guess ..

Well if the Board meeting was today, maybe there is a chance the plans moving forward might be detailed tomorrow?

Be good if that happened I reckon ..

[James]

Report on 9 News tonight stated that the cancellations will occur again on Monday, but advance notice will be given and they will try and spread the load across all lines. From Tuesday, there will be a revised timetable running.

[ozbob]

Report on 9 News tonight stated that the cancellations will occur again on Monday, but advance notice will be given and they will try and spread the load across all lines. From Tuesday, there will be a revised timetable running.

Thanks James.

Gee be good if the actual transport authorities could inform the public hey?

[ozbob]

7 News --> 100 services due to staffing issues

The State's Transport Minister is forcing the Queensland Rail board to host an emergency meeting after one of the operator's darkest days. 100 services were cancelled because there aren't enough drivers for the Redcliffe Peninsula line.

[ozbob]

^ according to this report the Board meeting is actually tomorrow. 

However the news report also confirmed that the interim timetable will operate from Tuesday, but still with possible ongoing changes.
Guess the Board has to give its ' approval ' to the plan.

They also mentioned the possibility of fines, which is rather pointless as it just means less funds to do the job in the end. 

Government fining itself in effect.  Total cluster-fuk, but what else can we expect from the clowns that inhabit George St ?

I have very little confidence left in Government or the Opposition I am afraid.

I spoke to the Minister at the RPL opening and mentioned that we had concerns with the service cancellations that had occurred the Friday before.  A switched on Administration would have been in gear long before last Friday, particularly as the issue of service cancellations was persisting.

I was also spun a bit of bullsh%t by certain people too that the cancellations would decrease and be finished by the end of the October.  The opposite has occurred.

Not happy at all.

Also receiving the usual feedback when there are public transport stuff ups - costing people a lot of money for extra-childcare, late work starts (particularly for casuals), missed appointments and the like.  No one really cares a stuff except us.  Well maybe they might turn up the next election with baseball bats I reckon.

[#Metro]

They also mentioned the possibility of fines, which is rather pointless as it just means less funds to do the job in the end. 

Government fining itself in effect.

Left hand slapping the right hand really.

It would be a different story if it were a private operator as the end pain of fines would be felt by shareholders and investors, not the gov't. And it would eat into the profit margin, so money still available to run services etc. 

Maybe they want to do a power display and fire the board also. IMHO, if anyone should be fired, the minister should fire himself really. The buck stops with him, not Ms Gluer.

So glad also that transport is a separate portfolio and not part of Deputy Premier Jackie Trad's "super portfolio". She would have had absolutely NO capacity to spend the time sorting out MBRL signalling issues and now this.

Sad that it takes us to point out the obvious!

[Fares_Fair]

This is my personal $2 worth.

I'm tired of hearing the blame for this debacle laid on cuts to the public service by the former LNP Government.
An utter load of rubbish in my personal opinion, based upon the facts.
This Government is wholly to blame for these circumstances.
Queensland Rail acknowledges their failure with a trained driver shortage, made apparent only after the 650 new services kicked in on 4 October 2016.

Rationale is as follows:

1. This Government tried to hide the truth, and delibetately misled our RBoT Administrator.
2. This responsibility shirking government has been in power for 18 months!
3. The Redcliffe Peninsula Line agreement was signed in July 2010 by then PM Julia Gillard et al.
4. Construction contract awarded to Thiess, was signed in August 2013.
5. Early construction works commenced in January 2014.
6.  Under the former LNP Government, on time running hit a peak of 96%.
7. On time running today is at around 84% under Labor.
8. What have the Government been doing for 18 months, seemingly unaware there was a problem even when 50 services were cancelled Friday week ago. Followed by a spectacular 100 last Friday?
9. How long does it take to train driver trainers? Over 18 months? No.
10. This extraordinary debacle is unprecedented in the history of transport in Queensland, but it appears we better get used to them.
11. At the opening on 4 October was a Prime Minister, a Queensland Premier, a Queensland Deputy Premier, a Transport Minister, local State MP's, a Mayor of Moreton Bay, a Federal Opposition MP, a Federal MP et al.
At the debacle announcement all were in apparent hiding while Queensland Rail was made to walk the plank.
13. Human error is clearly the reason and the CEO of QR has apologised.
If only the State Government could do the same.