Interim rail timetables

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Queensland Rail: Jackie Trad says QR has bad culture

ACTING Premier Jackie Trad has backed the resignation of Queensland Rail's chief operating officer Kevin Wright, saying he made the right choice to quit.

Ms Trad gave her first press conference today following the Christmas Day rail mess that saw one third of services cancelled to again back the performance of under-pressure Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

"I think that Mr Wright had made the correct decision today," she said.

"The Minister has said that in relation to the Christmas Day rostering debacle, it was an issue in relation to the management of the rostering system.

"So management needed to take responsibility for that rostering problem and I think that given everything that happened on Christmas Day, the late notification, the spike in cancellations, it was incumbent on the Minister to make some hard calls and I think he made the right call."

Ms Trad would not be drawn on whether QR's explanation that the rostering problems were caused by too many people calling in sick, rather than a problem with the roster itself, constituted a "lie".

However, she later noted there had been "inconsistent" information given to Government over the past year from QR on matters including train crewing resources.

And she said she believed QR and the Department of Transport had a "bad culture", which she blamed on factors including that one in five staff there had been sacked under the Newman Government's purge of the public service.

"I think what's also important is we wait until the full outcome of the review that will be reported on to Government at the end of January," she said.

Mr Hinchliffe is expected to be handed a report today into the Christmas Day problems.

Ms Trad she couldn't predict whether more sackings would follow.

" ... And she said she believed QR and the Department of Transport had a "bad culture", ...

^ finally.  What have we been saying for years? 

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> State Government angered by Queensland Rail's two-page 'report' on Christmas Day cancellations

QUEENSLAND Rail has further riled the Palaszczuk Government, handing in a flimsy, two-page "report" into the Christmas Day rail fail that gives no answers as to how it happened.

An incredulous Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, who is holding off Opposition calls for his own sacking, last night demanded the organisation try again to clearly explain why it unexpectedly cancelled a third of its Christmas Day services with little to no notice to commuters.

The Courier-Mail also can reveal the person with responsibility for actioning the shelved Indec report – which warned of "significant risks" to the timetable and other projects due to crew shortages – is the son-in-law of sacked chief operating officer Kevin Wright.

It's understood Mr Wright's team was responsible for drafting yesterday's scant document, which does not explain how the stuff-up happened or solutions to prevent a repeat.

The report does not address the use or cost of taxis for stranded passengers.

"Frankly, it does not address the matters that I sought in nearly enough detail," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"Key issues that have been raised as a concern by me have not been covered in this report. I have demanded that Queensland Rail come back to me with a thorough and clear explanation of the events that lead to and caused the cancellations on Christmas Day."

Mr Wright has already been forced to resign over the Christmas Day fiasco.

It can now be revealed his son-in-law, Jay Kronenberg, also had a key role in the lead up to October's timetable chaos when he acted as General Manager Citytrains from July 4 to December 19.

The Courier-Mail has been told Mr Kronenberg had responsibility for the Indec report but only assigned it a "medium risk" profile despite the dire warnings contained within.

QR last night confirmed Mr Kronenberg had worked in three general management positions since 2015 – all under his father-in-law.

Acting Premier Jackie Trad said QR had a "bad culture", but blamed it on Newman era cuts.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland Rail to deliver report into Christmas Day cancellations

The Queensland government will receive a report into the Christmas Day rail fail on Friday, although it will not be made public until besieged Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe has "digested" its contents.

Acting Premier Jackie Trad confirmed Mr Hinchliffe would receive the report on Friday into "what actually went wrong" when 235 services were cancelled on Christmas Day.

"He has made a commitment to release relevant information publicly, when he gets the report and he's had time to review that report and digest it," she said.

"I do know that the public is deeply, deeply interested in this, as is the government, we will make sure that the interest that is in the public benefit is released in relation to what happened on Christmas Day.

"There may be some issues relating to confidentiality, I'm not sure, I think he needs an opportunity to receive the report, to review it, and then make that decision [into how much will be released publicly]."

Mr Hinchliffe and Queensland Rail acting chief executive Jim Benstead have been reluctant to "guarantee" train services would run smoothly on New Year's Eve.

But Ms Trad was willing to give a guarantee of a different sort when asked if Mr Hinchliffe would still have his job in 2017.

"I can guarantee that Stirling Hinchliffe will do the job that the Premier has asked him to do," the Deputy Premier said.

Ms Trad apologised to passengers on behalf of the government for the inconveniences experienced as a result of the Christmas Day debacle.

"I do know that Minister Hinchliffe has been working very hard over the past number of days to make sure that New Year's Eve celebrations are not disrupted in the same way," she said.

"I know he's had a number of briefings, he's required Queensland Rail to provide him with specific information."

Ms Trad said the rosters were full for New Year's Eve services and Mr Hinchliffe had kept her updated.

"I can guarantee that the minister is working very hard, but there might be a fault in one of the lines, there might be a tragedy on one of the lines, because of all of these things, because of human nature, you cannot absolutely guarantee that every single train will run as planned," she said.

In October 2015, a whistleblower contacted Ms Trad's office warning of a looming driver shortage, when she was the transport minister.

Ms Trad said the information provided by the caller was not consistent with information being provided by Queensland Rail at the time.

"In fact, less than a month after, that call which was from an anonymous individual, Queensland Rail embarked upon the recruitment of 100 train drivers and 100 guards," she said.

"Some four weeks after that there was a change in ministry.

"In terms of the information, the handover to Stirling Hinchliffe, I did outline as I have detailed in the past, the issues that Queensland Rail had advised me may be of concern in terms of the 2016 train issues.

"It was general issues, I did advise, in part of the incoming briefs, Stirling would have been advised that a recruitment process had been underway."

Ms Trad said she believed chief operating officer Kevin Wright made the right decision in resigning.

"The minister has said that in relation to the Christmas Day rostering debacle, it was an issue in relation to the management of the rostering system," she said.

"So management needed to take responsibility for that rostering problem and I think that given everything that happened on Christmas Day, the late notification, the spike in cancellations, it was incumbent on the minister to make some hard calls and I think he made the right call."

Ms Trad said once the Philip Strachan review was received at the end of January, the government would look at the recommendations and make any necessary changes.

Acting Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said Queenslanders deserved to know what was in the report on the Christmas Day fiasco.

"I can tell this minister that the people of south-east Queensland would like also to digest this report and see the contents of his failings on Christmas Day," she said.

"This is a minister that continues to play the blame game... This is now the third QR executive we've seen go on this incompetent minister's watch."

Ms Frecklington said it was not good enough that Ms Trad and Mr Hinchliffe had "refused to guarantee to the commuters of south-east Queensland that they're going to be able to turn up to their party on time on New Year's Eve".

[ozbob]

There is ' clusterfuk ' and there is a Queensland ' clusterfuk '  ..

OMG !!

This is now a total shambles ...   

It is an Omni-shambles !!

[BrizCommuter]

QR don't seem to have learnt much from these trips!

[#Metro]

#FleeQld

[ozbob]

#FleeQld

And #FleeQld I will (for a while  ) 

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 31st December 2016 page 39

LNP weak on policy, strong on criticism

[Stillwater]

When the state government fails in its administration or oversight of things, leading to:

- a lack of care for vulnerable children and circumstances where they die
- the abuse of children in state institutionalised care
- the complete failure of the Health Dept payroll computer system
- a fake Tahitian prince defrauding taxpayers of $16m
- incompatible signalling systems on the railways
- NGR trains with design faults
- QR railfail

... taxpayers are more willing to forgive the failure if the government can provide a complete explanation (so that Joe Blow can understand it), and explains in full, what remedy steps have been/will be taken to ensure the problems have been rectified and a superior oversight system is in place.

If the Strachan Inquiry is nothing more than a political witch-hunt that shafts blame home to the LNP, without laying out how the ALP can fix the mess, the travelling public and voters are likely to vent their frustration at the ballot box.  It will be a sign of maturity for this government if it sets right the wrong rather than, like a broken record, repeats the mantra that 'the other side is to blame'.  That would be crass politics at its worst.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe issues assurance on trains

Almost half of the train drivers working New Year's Eve were originally on a rostered day off.

Figures provided to Fairfax Media revealed there would be 259 Queensland Rail drivers working on New Year's Eve.

Of those, 120 drivers would be working an RDO.

Under Queensland Rail's rostering arrangements, it's not uncommon for drivers to be offered shifts on RDOs.

Earlier, Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe assured New Year's Eve revellers there was enough crew in place to cover train services tonight and tomorrow.

Mr Hinchliffe said he had another briefing with Queensland Rail on Saturday morning to confirm the resources were in place for "smooth delivery" of rail services.

"There are extra services in place to cater for families coming to and from the early fireworks display at 8.30 here in the CBD and also the midnight fireworks display," he said.

"I have confidence that we've got the train crew in place to deliver the services.

"It's not going to be focused on those extra services, on running to precise timetabling, it's going to be about making sure that we load those services well and ensure that people get a chance to get away, to get home, to get on to their next celebration."

But Mr Hinchliffe could not say how many workers would be called in from rostered days off, or RDOs, to make sure the trains ran reliably on New Year's Eve, despite receiving a briefing in the morning.

"I don't know the number immediately to hand but what I can assure you is that all of these matters are being dealt with appropriately in a way that manages our workforce," he said.

"We've got all the rosters we need and we've got spares in case we have any last minute changes."

Mr Hinchliffe also said a two-page report handed to him by Queensland Rail into the Christmas Day cancellations was not up to scratch.

The letter confirms sick leave was lower than other periods and that rostering arrangements concerning the use of RDOs were a key factor in the Christmas Day cancellations.

"Fundamentally it's clear that the report made it clear that it was a rostering issue, but I need more detail to get to the heart of how that occurred," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"It's clear there were some poor decisions made by rostering management."

Mr Hinchliffe has asked QR to work on a more comprehensive report at the weekend ...

[Stillwater]

Two pages!  How contemptible.  QR have underestimated the seriousness of the matter.  The future of the organisation is on the line.

[red dragin]

Two pages!  How contemptible.  QR have underestimated the seriousness of the matter.  The future of the organisation is on the line.

The report author probably had an RDO last week, and there was no plans to cover them.

[mufreight]

Having avoided anything that might provide grounds to blame any of their union mates or deflect any responsibility from anyone involved as the creative writers from the media unit being on leave even a two page report is stretching credibility.
Mr Hinchcliffe should release a copy of the report as presented to him to the travelling public for their consideration which since they are paying for it deserve to be fully informed and they can then not only see where their money is spent and how and also judge the performance of all players in this debacle.

[ozbob]

The acting premier has tipped a bucket on QLD Rail bosses, calling them unreliable. @DarrenCurtis9 reports.https://t.co/7iKekqo3C3 #9News

— Nine News Brisbane (@9NewsBrisbane) December 30, 2016

[Stillwater]

The Premier is 'angry and furious'
Mr Hinchliffe is 'very disappointed'
Ms Trad we now know is 'very angry'

at recent QR performance, not withstanding its excellent service over New Years.

How quickly the issues are dealt with and a reliable timetable reinstated will become the focus in 2017.

[achiruel]

If the reports about ongoing driver (and guard?) shortages are correct, I wouldn't expect the initial RPL timetable to be successfully implemented until late this year.

Minister/DTMR/QR/TransLink need to bite the bullet and run RPL as a shuttle outside of peak hours until the required staff have been trained.

[mufreight]

Perhaps a better solution to the mess that Queensland Rail finds itself in would be to shut down and mothball the MBRL for the present, this would allow time for a proper fix of the signalling problems at Petrie, apparently still not resolved and operating by means of a manual patch, sorting out the difficulties with the commissioning of the NGR trains now into 11 months and still not one in service, and the crew shortage that means that there are not the crews to operate them even if they were available for service anyway.

[achiruel]

Are the signalling issues with the RPL at Petrie realistically fixable without ripping out all the signalling equipment and starting again? If not, I think that manual patch may be in place for a long time to come.

[mufreight]

Apparently not, but meantime consultants are getting big money to come up with a result and it would seem that to this time they have not.  Meanwhile the Queensland taxpayer is ensuring that they continue to get paid, a problem that should be billing the suppliers of the failed equipment but being Newmans mates were awarded the tender by TMR what other outcome can we expect.

[ozbob]

From the Sunday Mail 1st January 2017 page 10

Minister sets deadline for answers on rail fail

[Stillwater]

Ah ha!

[COURIER MAIL]

QUEENSLAND Rail train crew will receive a 12 per cent pay rise over four years – more than teachers and police – despite commuters enduring chaos from a timetable crisis caused by a driver shortage.

As Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe yesterday trumpeted a delay-free New Year's Eve service following a disastrous Christmas Day for the network, The Courier-Mail can reveal embattled rail operator QR has reached an in-principle agreement with unions that includes a 3 per cent annual pay rise for the next four years.

The deal will be put to employees to vote on.

As part of the deal, the controversial 20-minute "comfort break", which is given to all staff after working just 2.5 hours, has been scrapped.

The other major break – 40 minutes after working a minimum of six hours – remains.

The deal is more than police and teachers received – both securing 2.5 per cent rises for the next three years.

The base salary of a QR train driver on the southeast Queensland network is $92,574 and guards receive $87,016 excluding overtime on the existing agreement. With overtime payments many drivers and guards earn six-figure salaries.

Opposition transport spokesman Andrew Powell said the deal was too generous considering the ongoing timetable crisis affecting train ¬passengers.

"After weeks of crippling rail fail, the least commuters could expect of Stirling Hinchliffe is that he seek assurances from the union that any new pay deal for QR employees is tied to performance," Mr Powell said.

"Unfortunately for commuters, the unions' bosses are pulling the strings at QR."

Mr Hinchliffe said the proposed EBA would allow more workplace flexibility.

"Based on advice to me, I'm confident these new arrangements will allow Queensland Rail to deliver for its customers into the new year," he said.

Rail Tram and Bus Union Queensland secretary Owen Doogan confirmed an in-principle agreement.

Mr Hinchliffe was yesterday still waiting for QR to provide a more comprehensive report into the Christmas Day rail fail.

Chief operating officer Kevin Wright was forced to resign following the rail fail.

While Mr Hinchliffe celebrated a successful night of New Year's Eve services, Deputy Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said it was more good luck than good management.

[petey3801]

Leaving aside some of the factual errors in that article, the way that reads to me is that the LNP are now blaming traincrew for the driver shortage and rail fail?? I would love to know how his 'performance based' wage increase policy would work!
What an absolute muppet.

[#Metro]

Let's put politicians on performance pay. Something we can all agree on. 

[petey3801]

I think the only people who would disagree with that is the pollies themselves!

[achiruel]

Sounds good in theory, but how exactly would you measure politicians' performance? Regardless of what they achieve, in general conservatives will be unhappy with the performance of progressive politicians and v.v.

[Stillwater]

Opposition politicians would judge their performance by the extent to which they bring the government closer to collapse.  Government MPs would judge their performance by the extent to which they do the least effort and deliver less without losing office.  Result: voters are screwed.

[#Metro]

Sounds good in theory, but how exactly would you measure politicians' performance? Regardless of what they achieve, in general conservatives will be unhappy with the performance of progressive politicians and v.v.

The following is made up and is not a serious, final proposal. It is purely speculative and hypothetical.

You could make a rule that the pay of a politician is 2.5x the average wage.

That we can calculate easily from ABS statistics.

We cannot calculate performance directly, but what we can do is calculate an opinion poll that equals up to 100%.

So for example, we can get an opinion poll for satisfaction (just like we get an opinion poll for satisfaction in TransLink Tracker) from a sample group.

Now we just multiply both numbers together.

So if the average wage is $60 000, then 2.5x is $150 000, and the "satisfaction" rating is 50% then they would get:

$150 000 x 0.5 = $75 000.

It is possible that the satisfaction rating falls to something ridiculous, like 0%. That would imply the politician gets paid nothing, which isn't right.

So you could just cap the bottom range at the average wage. So if a politician gets 0% satisfaction, they would receive $60 000.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland Rail train crew in line for 3 per cent annual pay rise

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Queensland taxpayers spending thousands of dollars to run ghost cattle trains to Brisbane

TAXPAYERS are spending tens of thousands of dollars to run "ghost cattle trains" from outback Queensland to Brisbane without a single head of cattle on board.

Palaszczuk Government contract changes aimed at lifting the number of freight services are behind the latest rail fail.

Cattle freight trains are run by private rail operator Aurizon, which is paid by the State Government. Trains haul up to 44 wagons capable of carrying 1000 head of cattle to meat processing plants in the state's southeast.

At times they have been running with as few as seven wagons, or completely empty.

In one case last month, a train hauling empty wagons is understood to have travelled 800km from cattle stops west of Rockhampton to Brisbane's southwest.

An industry source estimated that a single freight service would cost at least $20,000.

The Transport Department confirmed four cattle freight services ran empty last month.

"Aurizon has responded to concerns that services were irregular by providing a reliable, consistent service to ensure more presence in Queensland regional communities, which means some services may run empty," a department spokeswoman said.

These empty carriages are running at a time when Queensland Rail is cancelling passenger trains because it doesn't have enough drivers. Yet Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe still has the support of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Acting Premier Jackie Trad.

Ms Trad yesterday praised Mr Hinchliffe for ensuring the Christmas Day rail fail was not repeated on New Year's Eve.

QR is expected to hand over more information on the festive fail in coming days.

Ms Trad said she did, however, support the 12 per cent pay rise train crew will be granted over four years under a new enterprise bargaining agreement struck during the timetabling crisis.

[bcasey]

These empty carriages are running at a time when Queensland Rail is cancelling passenger trains because it doesn't have enough drivers. Yet Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe still has the support of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Acting Premier Jackie Trad.

Are they trying to imply here that the Aurizon Freight Train drivers driving empty carriages could cover the driver shortage on the passenger network? Considering they drive different types of trains, and they wouldn't have the necessary knowledge of all of the routes, I very much doubt they could be of much help.

[petey3801]

These empty carriages are running at a time when Queensland Rail is cancelling passenger trains because it doesn't have enough drivers. Yet Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe still has the support of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Acting Premier Jackie Trad.

Are they trying to imply here that the Aurizon Freight Train drivers driving empty carriages could cover the driver shortage on the passenger network? Considering they drive different types of trains, and they wouldn't have the necessary knowledge of all of the routes, I very much doubt they could be of much help.

Pretty much my thoughts on reading that too! Anything to get any sort of link, no matter how tenuous, seems a good plan for the Curious Snail...

[Stillwater]

Courier-Mail seems to want to claim a ministerial scalp to put us in the 'fun zone' of a more unstable government.  Having said that, Mr Hinchliffe has a very small window of opportunity to act decisively, or his own government will need to show that 'something's happening' - and that could involve him and his ministerial portfolio.  That point will be reached when the Premier comes back from hols.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Overtime by Queensland Rail train drivers more than doubled in two years before new line opened

OVERTIME by train drivers more than doubled in the two years before the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line.

Figures, provided through a Question on Notice, show Queensland Rail's 497 drivers worked 8604 overtime hours in January 2015. In October last year, when the new services started operating, it was 18,837.

The month preceding the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line had 15,791 hours of overtime — 20 per cent less than after it was operational.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said increasing overtime showed flaws with the rostering system.

"Although there are regulations in place mandating the maximum hours individual drivers can work to manage fatigue, what's concerning is Queensland Rail's increasing ­reliance on overtime to keep driver rosters filled," he said.

Each driver who works overtime earns 170 per cent of their average hourly rate.

Acting Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said Mr Hinchliffe was trying to hide the full extent of the overtime bill by only releasing the figures until October, instead of the year's end.

"What he hasn't been able to hide is that, under Labor, the overtime bill for train drivers has more than doubled since the start of 2015," she said.

Mr Hinchliffe said the figures also showed sick leave was not a big factor on cancellations from October through to Christmas Day — when almost a third of services were scrapped due to a roster error.

"Averaged out across the two-month period, drivers absent from duty on sick leave accounted for 3.56 per cent of the total train driver workforce," Mr Hinchliffe said.

It comes as the rostering system is being reviewed, with the results crucial to any management restructure.

A QR spokeswoman said the report would be provided to Mr Hinchliffe as soon as possible and would provide all relevant detail.

[#Metro]

News story just out. Supports what SteelPan has been saying.

It appears that Christmas falling on Sunday was a key problem due to an 18-day limit on Sunday working. Not surprised that many traincrew would have been maxed out given the circumstances.

I am surprised at the coverage QR is getting in the CM. Has been a story for three weeks or so now?

QUEENSLAND Rail has admitted the cancellations on Christmas Day of almost a third of services were foreseeable and avoidable.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the comprehensive report ordered by Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, which he received yesterday, found an over-reliance on the goodwill of train drivers to work overtime and restrictive workplace practices were major causes.

It also highlighted that train crew are not allowed to work more than 18 Sundays each year as a condition of their enterprise bargaining agreement.

"The rostering implications of Christmas Day falling on the last Sunday of the year was a known factor ...

Queensland Rail admits Christmas Day service failures foreseeable and avoidable
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-rail-admits-christmas-day-service-failures-foreseeable-and-avoidable/news-story/c8f402ecf9c4b6692357ad0a021040e9

I'd suggest, the person struggling is the one so blind, they will not see....NO WAIT......WAIT...you MAY be right...I'll just check.....

Haaa no sorry, you're wrong! It turns out, BOTH Christmas Day, falling on a Sunday AND QR encountering Christmas, falling on a Sunday [as well as EVERY other day....a few umpteen times over, with its more than 150yr history], HAVE occurred before! [who knew!!!]

I've read some %^&$%^ Rubbish on these Boards - but you take the cake, the pie, the tasty festive plum pudding and yep, let's throw in the BONUS Xmas Hat...... seriously, that's beyond "True Believer" Awesome...what happened folks.....was...wait for it....Christmas fell on a Sunday, I mean, No-one in the Qld govt/QR saw it coming, with only 365 days between Xmas 2015 and Xmas 2016....no-one saw it coming....I mean WHO KNEW....December 25 was gonna be Xmas Day THIS year? and...on a SUNDAY!!!!!!!

I mean...IF ONLY we'd known

https://goo.gl/D0Avnu

We could have...liked planned and.....got ready....and worked things out....IF ONLY WE'D KNOWN!!!!!!!

Maybe....maybe.......maybe....we could like...try one of them "calendars" for 2017.......maybe....maybe...maybe, we could ring up a Professor at UQ or one them there other learning places....ask them...1) will there be a Christmas Day in 2017....2) what DATE will it occur on and 3) What DAY of the week, will that be!!!!!

QR/Qld Govt Management Power!!!!

Dare to Dream...but not too much in QQQQqqqquuueeeennnsssllllaaannnnd!

Hey...you recon those "3 wise men" would consult to QGovt/QR for 2017 Xmas Day timing?

[HappyTrainGuy]

Hardly big news lol

[achiruel]

Is there nothing in the EBA that allows working extra Sundays for some other reward, e.g. extra overtime payments or something? Or it's just a flat you can ONLY work 18 Sundays per year?

[red dragin]

Is there nothing in the EBA that allows working extra Sundays for some other reward, e.g. extra overtime payments or something? Or it's just a flat you can ONLY work 18 Sundays per year?

It's probably a combination of making sure that the opportunity to work at the higher penalty rate is shared around fairly, and that the crews are guaranteed 2/3 of Sunday's off a year.

[petey3801]

The 18 sundays only counts normally rostered shifts, NOT overtime shifts.

Also Metro, I don't know what you found 'correct' in that ridiculous rant by SteelPan apart from the fact that Christmas fell on a Sunday (the rant being a reply to my factual rebuttal of his previous uninformed and completely BS rant).

[ozbob]

5 January 2017

Media release
Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe

Queensland Rail Christmas Day Report made public

Queensland Rail's report on the mass cancellation of Christmas Day train services has today been provided to the Strachan Commission of Inquiry by the Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games, Stirling Hinchliffe.

The report, prepared by Queensland Rail at the Minister's direction, has also been made publicly available today.

"I know the cancellation of 235 services by Queensland Rail on Christmas Day of all days inconvenienced many passengers and frankly they have a right to know why," Minister Hinchliffe said.

"That's why I'm making the report public, in full, warts-and-all, for Queenslanders to see and make their own assessment.

"This report, in my opinion, also provides an insight into some of the wider issues at play at Queensland Rail that have festered for a number of years and are within the scope of the Strachan Commission of Inquiry investigation.

"It is important that Mr Strachan was furnished with the Christmas Day report to inform his investigation and recommendations for the reform of Queensland Rail.

"My meeting with Mr Strachan today has confirmed the Commission of Inquiry is on track to finalise its findings to the Premier by the end of the month."

Issues identified by Queensland Rail's Christmas Day report include:

    Constrained driver availability
    Higher than anticipated unavailability of drivers on RDOs
    Limited rostering flexibility 
    Higher frequency of services than usually offered on Christmas Day   

Minister Hinchliffe said Queensland Rail's report rightly identifies the diabolical rostering issues experienced on Christmas Day should have been foreseeable and manageable by rail operations management.

"Clearly these fundamental matters weren't properly handled by those responsible at Queensland Rail," the Minister said.         

"Those failings were compounded by the underlying shortage of traincrew, a misguided assumption that 115 drivers would work on their Christmas Day RDO, and an antiquated, inflexible and manualised rostering system that has not kept pace with technology.   

"For too long Queensland Rail has relied on the goodwill of drivers to work additional shifts to keep services running - it's just not good enough. 

"I want to again thank the traincrew, station staff and operations staff that worked Christmas Day, but also those who have given up days off throughout the year to fill rosters and provide services to passengers.   

"As the report demonstrates when the depth of the service cancellations were made clear to me on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I directed Queensland Rail to waive fares for Christmas Day in recognition of the impact this would have.

"I again apologise for the disruption to passengers, it is unacceptable and that's why I instructed Queensland Rail to double its focus on the recruitment and training of 200 additional drivers for CityTrain network, as authorised by the Palaszczuk Government.

"There have already been some changes to the management of Queensland Rail since Christmas Day and I make no secret of my expectation there may be more once the Commission of Inquiry completes its investigation.

"I am continuing to work closely with the senior leaders within Queensland Rail who are committed to seeing change for the better service of our customers."

The Minister has instructed Queensland Rail to keep a Register of Actions detailing progress on addressing the failings of Christmas Day including the rollout of a new roster software modernisation project to improve roster planning, centralisation and real time information.

"As I have said previously, this is not a mess of my creation, but I am cleaning it up and, as this report demonstrates there is a realisation, within Queensland Rail we need to see results."

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> QR says Christmas stuff-up was caused by 'rostering, sick days, driver shortage'

The cancellation of about one-third of train services on Christmas Day was due to a mixture of rostering practices, late notification of sick days and driver shortage.

Queensland Rail's report into the stuff-up, sent to media by Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe's office half an hour before a press conference, blamed a range of issues.

Christmas Day falling on a Sunday was the first problem, especially as the operator was reliant on drivers accepting extra shifts and overtime on days off.

"For Christmas Day 2016, this situation was exacerbated by there being a reduced number of drivers available to be rostered for duty due to the effect of rostering requirements specified in the train crew enterprise agreement," it reads.

"Christmas Day 2016 fell on the last Sunday of the year and many drivers had already worked the maximum of 18 Sundays for the year."

That combined with annual leave and fatigue-management meant that out of 521 drivers, only 92 ordinary-hours drivers and eight tutor drivers were available to be rostered.

The remaining 115 of the 215 drivers required to service the half hourly Sunday timetable were needed from drivers prepared to work on their day off.

The report admits the rostering implications of Christmas Day falling on the last Sunday of the year was a known factor.

It also reveals it is not unusual for the majority of the required drivers for a normal Sunday timetable (215 drivers) to be working on their "designated leisure day".

But on Christmas Day, a higher than anticipated number of drivers who had previously indicated they were willing to work on Christmas Day, indicated they were not willing to work.

In the end, 59 drivers, out of 295 drivers on their day off, ended up working on Christmas Day.

Queensland Rail was also notified by 10 drivers on Christmas Eve that they were not available to work due to sick leave.

The report acknowledges 10 drivers is not unusual – with 27 ultimately calling in sick.

But the "receipt of those notifications within a short timeframe on 24 December 2016, when work was already underway to alter existing job cards to address existing unfilled shifts due to the reduced number of available drivers willing to work their designated leisure day, meant that Queensland Rail was not able to manage the impact of those notifications in an effective way".

The fourth problem was limited rostering system flexibility, with the need to manually manage timetable and job card changes since October 2016.

"Currently, significant manual intervention is required to remove and reallocate train crew job cards when train crew unavailability arises," the report reads.

The report, from acting chief executive officer Jim Benstead, defended the two-page letter handed to Mr Hinchliffe last week, saying it contained key factual information while a comprehensive report was prepared.

"The additional time required to prepare this report was necessary given the operational focus last week on preparation for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day services and the need to fully consider the causative factors that led to the Christmas Day cancellations," it reads.