Interim rail timetables

[ozbob]

We have been screwed SEQ!
> https://t.co/pZF5tSX0qA#qldpol #railfail
Goodbye @AnnastaciaMP ! @QueenslandRail & @QLDLabor incompetent! pic.twitter.com/Ht9IDIoUHc

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) January 16, 2017

[ozbob]

. @N_Scales_TMR @QueenslandRail
The 23 Jan 17 timetable does not serve Cleveland line well at all. Can this be fixed ASAP.#qldpol

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) January 16, 2017

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail acting chief executive officer Neil Scales said the timetable would be in place for the remainder of 2017.

You've got to be fuking joking...

...a Queensland Rail spokeswoman confirmed the timetable would revert back to the November 7 timetable on January 23.

You're reverting back to the old timetable yet the PDF timetables apparently "are not ready"? FFS.... Lost for words.

Utter circus!!

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

17th January 2017

Re: Queensland Rail Timetable from 23rd January 2017

Good Morning,

It appears the acting CEO of Queensland Rail has commented that the mediocre reduced service timetable to be implemented on the SEQ Queensland Rail network from the 23rd January 2017 is to be in place for at least the remainder of 2017.

This is not acceptable.  Goodbye Government Labor.

Might be time to find a rail operator than can deliver frequent reliable service for our rail network.  Queensland Rail and its over paid Executive Leadership Team (complete with performance cash bonuses) should be fired, today.  And get rid of the Queensland Rail Board as well. Clearly a complete waste of money as well.

There needs to be a complete reorganisation of public transport for SEQ.  Queensland Rail, TransLink (which is a collection of desks now at TMR) and TMR are failures! Look no further than the failed Redcliffe Peninsula Line - still with major issues, and the botched New Generation Rollingstock project.

We need a proper authority, Public Transport Queensland, with various divisions within that authority including a rail division.

We have also lost confidence in TransLink and TMR.  They are hopeless.  Queensland Rail and Brisbane Transport need to be relegated to operators as for the rest of the private public transport operators.   Public transport in SEQ is a disaster at present.  We warned for years this mess was manifesting and we were ignored.

If the hat fits wear it!

Yours in transport failure SEQ.

Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

16th January 2017

Queensland Rail Timetable from 23rd January 2017

Greetings,

As we feared Queensland Rail has announced that the timetable for the SEQ rail network will be the timetables that were operating from the 7 Nov 2016 are to be re-introduced from the 23rd January 2017.

This was in the fact the Interim Timetable # 2 (See below).

It is a confusing timetable with many service reductions and a different timetable on Fridays, from the consistent Monday to Thursday timetable. There are many gaps and it is a very poor outcome to be honest.  We were assured that with the passing of time the issues and job rule problems would be resolved and we could look forward to proper service levels.

I have checked the TransLink Journey Planner and according to that the Rosewood weekend rail services will be running.

We are very disappointed in Queensland Rail.  Serious questions must be asked of the Executive Leadership Team (who have pocketed cash bonuses to deliver this rubbish) and the Queensland Rail Board.  Might be time for them to de-train, such is the level of their incompetence.

Enjoy the rail fail!

Best wishes
Robert

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

Reference:

QR's Interim Timetable Mk2 - Summer of Misery
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/qrs-interim-timetable-mk2-summer-of.html

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/112836

2017 train timetable

From Monday 23 January, Queensland Rail will introduce its 2017 timetable to provide a more reliable service.

This timetable will be in place for the rest of the year while Queensland Rail works to recruit new drivers.

The timetable has been designed to provide a sustainable solution with services where they're needed most.

You can plan your journey now using the journey planner, and printable PDF timetables will be available soon.

If you don't already have it, we recommend you download the MyTransLink app and favourite your station for real-time service info. Favourite your line to be notified of any service disruptions on that line (such as bridge strikes or track faults).

===================

[ozbob]

Perth @Transperth shows @QueenslandRail how to do it.@N_Scales_TMR
> https://t.co/22Er6RZGND#qldpol
Frequency, cleanliness, no ad wrap .. pic.twitter.com/x7DVMT1FAG

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) January 16, 2017

[#Metro]

Converting Queensland Rail to a division within a PTA would not furnish immunity from participation in a public sector cuts program and is open to back conversion. Political direction remains though ministerial directive.

Places like Perth, which have this setup work are vulnerable under Newman style political environments. They just haven't had their turn yet.

You still have the issue of unenforceable penalties and self-penalisation under this scheme.

Even an "independent" Translink Authority was subject to direct ministerial control.

Genuine independence will result when Queensland Rail is put to IPO.

[ozbob]

Perth is working fine.  The present mess in Queensland simply cannot be allowed to continue.

It is getting worse not better in SEQ. 

Some one has to grow a set and do the hard yards now.

TransLink is a joke, as is TMR.   We need a dedicated Public Transport Authority, with a dedicated portfolio and Minister.

Band-aids such as a reduced service timetable do nothing in the end.  It is not addressing the core issues.

[ozbob]

Macquariemedia news network has followed up on this ... thanks for interest!

[#Metro]

Perth does work well, as did Queensland Rail once.

But that is not relevant information.

You can run a similar chain of events in the Perth model too.

And you can run it in the proposed PTQ model too.

These models don't deal with the root cause - political control of internal business affairs.

It is a contradiction to condemn politicians actions or lack thereof, but at the same time preserve their power over internal business affairs and management selection.

It is like a love-hate relationship.

Queensland Rail was a independent GOC and was converted to participate in the cuts program.

You can do exactly the same thing with PTQ.

In fact, the conversion of the "independent" Translink Transit Authority to a division within TMR, and then the application of a cuts program to it illustrates my point that a PTQ setup for QR would not deal with the root causes.

[ozbob]

Disagree.  The Perth and Victoria models work very well in our democratic systems.

The present clusterfuk has to go!

The PTA (WA) and PTV (Victoria) and not constrained to a particular operator.  All things can be contested, including rail.

Queensland Rail, TransLink and TMR have massive replication and overlap.  Silos of mediocrity.  Bring it all under one organisational structure including Brisbane Transport.

[#Metro]

The Victorian model has a contracted, independent rail operator, METRO. And the Perth model contracts all city bus services (the equivalent of BT) to three independent bus companies.

Monopolistic provision is very much reduced in both.

The first thing blue team will do when elected is covert PTQ into a government authority and then apply a cuts program to the bus and train divisions. And then install their mates on the board and or choose their own CEO.

Mark my words...

Politicians play with PT because we give them power over internal business affairs. Private companies are happy to do whatever they are paid to do, whether an election is coming or not.

[ozbob]

I am confident that after the Commission of Inquiry is finished, some big changes will be made.

It is the Government of the day that in the end does control.  That is the reality, the thing to do is to have an organisational structure that actually delivers proper public transport.  Not the hybrid coalitions of under-performing agencies that we have at present.

I have been to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney.  Brisbane public transport is a sorry sad last.   Even Adelaide runs rings around Brisbane.

Until the structural organsiational problems with Brisbane (SEQ) are resolved it will just trail the other cities by even greater degrees of incompetence sadly.

That really is the bitter pill for Brisbane.  With the BCC Metro ' Business Case ' due in a few months, it sure is going to be a fun year here in banana land hey?  LOLOL

[#Metro]

I support PTQ, but at this stage am not supporting internal production of bus and train services (monopolies), as that means the regulator will also act as operator and will essentially fine itself if it does not meet its own service contact with itself.

PTQ can contract a privatised independent Queensland Rail and Brisbane Transport where investors will wear fines for non compliance. Most PT services in SEQ- buses, ferries and trams are already privately contracted, and work well.

This setup will allow govt to focus on what it does well, and private business to focus on what it does well. That also means that govt is kept from what it does badly, and private business is kept away from what it does badly as well.

[ozbob]

 

Premier @AnnastaciaMP will meet with @StirlHinchliffe tomorrow afternoon but says he was asking QR the right questions. @abcnews #qldpol

— Chris O'Brien (@COBrienBris) January 16, 2017

[ozbob]

Lots of reports of congestion on the trains again today.  The SSHTT has fallen over (well it fell over weeks ago really ..  )

[urbanplanr]

So from Monday 23 Jan, services from Caboolture stop at Nundah too. Is this correct?
https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/train/t/caboolture-line/upward/2017-01-23?pageDirection=After&pageTo=0800

[ozbob]

Not sure.  It is showing only the one service the 7.11 ex Caboolture stopping there. 

When the PDFs are available all will be revealed I hope (minus errors).

[James]

The first thing blue team will do when elected is covert PTQ into a government authority and then apply a cuts program to the bus and train divisions. And then install their mates on the board and or choose their own CEO.

Mark my words...

Politicians play with PT because we give them power over internal business affairs. Private companies are happy to do whatever they are paid to do, whether an election is coming or not.

And then they'll screw the whole thing up, we'll see PT slide into chaos, and the government kicked out in a landslide within 2 terms. This is where Labor's worst act in this term of government was winning government. All of these problems would have been the LNP's problems had they won the Jan 2015 election. Just the issue would have (probably) been farmed out to a private operator, too hamstrung to do much for at least another 6-12 months.

You can never fully protect from political meddling, you just set up a system which is robust and well run, and hope the incompetents in charge aren't there for too long...

[ozbob]

Premier @AnnastaciaMP to meet with @QueenslandRail over timetable: https://t.co/BM55JDxNm3 #9News

— Nine News Brisbane (@9NewsBrisbane) January 17, 2017

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be seeking assurances the new Queensland Rail timetable is up to scratch when she meets with Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe on Wednesday.

Ms Palaszczuk again hit out at QR's "appalling" failure to notify the government about the driver shortage but continued to stand by Mr Hinchliffe even as she insisted on a personal briefing about the new timetable.

"I want to be reassured and I want to sit down with the minister and the acting CEO (of QR) because I need an assurance this rail timetable is going to work," she told ABC Radio on Tuesday.

When asked why Mr Hinchliffe continued to have her support when other people had been sacked over the fiasco, Ms Palaszczuk said it was because she wanted him to "fix this up".

"I think that it is appalling that QR failed to notify the minister," she said.

"My understanding is that the minister was asking the questions and he was being assured all along that everything was fine and frankly that's not good enough."

QR's long-awaited 2017 timetable was released on Monday ahead of its January 23 start.

Phillip Strachan will deliver his independent review of QR to Ms Palaszczuk at the end of January.

The review will then go to the cabinet for its consideration.

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/01/17/10/35/premier-to-meet-with-qr-over-timetable#9s6S3ZkkZ3BxEELU.99

[ozbob]

From next Monday the @QueenslandRail 2017 timetable will be in place. Plan your journey now https://t.co/gleopJysDF pic.twitter.com/oenHRZvtPa

— TransLink (@TransLinkSEQ) January 17, 2017

[ozbob]

^

[petey3801]

So from Monday 23 Jan, services from Caboolture stop at Nundah too. Is this correct?
https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/train/t/caboolture-line/upward/2017-01-23?pageDirection=After&pageTo=0800

There are one or two from Caboolture and Kippa Ring that stop all stops Northgate to Bowen Hills in the morning, making up for the loss of some of the Northgate/Shorncliffe trains in morning peak, if it is the same as the interim timetable in December.
I must say, I am quite surprised that this is going to be the timetable for the rest of the year though. I thought they may have used the interim one for a month or two then gone to the full October timetable again, but oh well.

[ozbob]

I too expected that the 4 Oct 2016 timetable would have been implemented.

To suggest that this interim #2 is it for 2017 is a profound insult.

I was under the impression that changes to job rules etc. and decreased route training and so forth that QR would have been able to deliver that, certainly by April or so ...

I am starting to wonder if the Government is being given wrong advice by QR ELT to be frank.  Pretty hard to trust them now sadly ...

[ozbob]

. @AnnastaciaMP @StirlHinchliffe
Re Rail Fail and the mediocre @QueenslandRail timetable for 2017
> https://t.co/nJCuCyjfym#qldpol pic.twitter.com/eop6gIdD5w

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) January 17, 2017

[#Metro]

Maybe there are more problems we don't know about?

Could that be the case?

Or perhaps so much money was burnt in this fiasco, the true reason is to save money in the budget to make up the shortfall by cutting services. This way QR keeps within budget.

Makes sense when viewed from that angle.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Premier to seek timetable assurances from QR

[ozbob]

Booked for an interview on 4BC with host Ben Davis at 3.20pm this afternoon on the 2017 timetable and related matters ..

[BrizCommuter]

After happily using Auckland and Wellington's trains for the last few weeks, what awful news to come back to...

QR's Rail Fail to continue for at least a year!
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/qrs-rail-fail-to-continue-for-at-least.html

[#Metro]

Auckland and Wellington trains are run by TransDev. What was the infrastructure like brizcommuter?

[ozbob]

After happily using Auckland and Wellington's trains for the last few weeks, what awful news to come back to...

QR's Rail Fail to continue for at least a year!
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/qrs-rail-fail-to-continue-for-at-least.html

Commiserations.  I feel similarly in despair.  The only time I looked at a timetable in Perth was to work out the first morning service to get to the gym. I spent days seamlessly travelling around on the network, with trains so frequent it was TUAG.

Thanks for the article.  Very useful of course.

===============

BrizCommuter ' @QueenslandRail Rail Fail to continue for at least a year! '
> https://t.co/pxtPAwmlcQ#qldpol#railfail pic.twitter.com/kgic5HJZsv

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) January 17, 2017

[SurfRail]

Sack the bastards now.  Nothing else is going to work.

[#Metro]

^ +1

Neil Scales is running the show. His decision IMHO.

He was put in to replace Gluer until a new CEO is found.

[mufreight]

Might not have been liked in some quarters but things would be better under someone like Glen Dawe or Paul Scurrah, both had a handle on what it took to run a railway and were not afraid of the unions.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Palaszczuk: Election furthest thing from my mind

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk will seek assurances the new Queensland Rail timetable is up to scratch when she meets with Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe tomorrow.

Ms Palaszczuk again hit out at QR's "appalling" failure to notify the government about the driver shortage but continued to stand by Mr Hinchliffe even as she insisted on a personal briefing about the new timetable.

"I want to be reassured and I want to sit down with the minister and the acting CEO (of QR) because I need an assurance this rail timetable is going to work," she told ABC Radio today.

When asked why Mr Hinchliffe continued to have her support when other people had been sacked, Ms Palaszczuk said it was because she wanted him to "fix this up".

"I think that it is appalling that QR failed to notify the minister," she said.

"My understanding is that the minister was asking the questions and he was being assured all along that everything was fine and frankly that's not good enough."

QR's long-awaited 2017 timetable was released on Monday ahead of its January 23 start.

Phillip Strachan will deliver his independent review of QR to Ms Palaszczuk at the end of January.

The review will then go to the cabinet for its consideration. ...

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Ipswich train users 'packed in like sardines'

Ipswich residents are being squashed into train carriages due to a severe lack of services and the situation won't improve for at least another week.

Robert Dow from Rail Back on Track said trains were spotted this morning at Darra full to the brim with commuters thanks to Queensland Rail's summer school holiday timetable blunder.

"People were packed in like a tin of sardines," he said.

"The summer timetable is just not working."

While it is normal for Queensland Rail to reduce services over Christmas and New Year, 2017 is the first year reduced services have continued three weeks into January, Mr Dow says.

For the next week Ipswich has lost its express service with trains now stopping at all stations until January 23.

"From (Monday) express trains will be back on the Ipswich line stopping at Darra and Rosewood trains will be running on weekends," he said.

"But the Friday timetable will be different to Monday to Thursday. It's very confusing.

"The best thing Ipswich residents can do is to check the Journey Planner website before they travel."

Mr Dow said while Ipswich will suffer less with the new timetable, announced by QR overnight, it's still not ideal.

"It was announced late last night which was a bit sneaky," he said.

"The new timetable has big problems. It's another reduced service timetable

"Ipswich residents aren't happy.

"They got bashed around when QR stopped Rosewoood weekend services and the continued reduced services are just not a good thing."

[ozbob]

Booked for an interview on 4BC with host Ben Davis at 3.20pm this afternoon on the 2017 timetable and related matters ..

Thanks for the opportunity Ben and 4BC to highlight some of the issues with the timetable from the 23rd of January.

Authorities do not tell the public these problems at all.  Just convoluted spin sadly ..

Advice to all:

Check the journey planner and if possible print off the PDF timetables when available (just checked still not there).

Travel off peak if possible - cheaper and more comfortable.

Use the tools available, apps, social media to remain aware of service disruptions.

If you are not happy or experience problems give feedback to TransLink or Queensland Rail. 
Some extra services can be added here and there as needed.

[ozbob]

[BrizCommuter]

30 minute peak gap on the Ferny Grove Line this afternoon between Mitchelton and Ferny Grove. F***ing useless QR!