Queensland Rail

[ozbob]

Day 755 of rail fail.

Net gain of 54 so at this rate would take another 5 years 10 months to get to target of 200. 

(Rate will increase hopefully, but they will still need more post CRR).

[verbatim9]

The inadequacies of the current train operating model was mentioned in the Couriermail today. I am glad that they caught on that Driver Only Operation is needed and should be phased in from 2020?

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/MarkBaileyMP/status/1054994428505538560

[achiruel]

The LNP is just as useless in opposition as they were in Government when it comes to public transport, I'm afraid. They are constantly criticising the Minister and Queensland Rail, yet the job of Opposition is not only to find fault with the Government, but to provide credible alternative policy. This has not been forthcoming, because they have none. They are yet to shoulder and of the responsibility for #railfail, which they contributed to considerably, or #NGRfail, which lies squarely at their feet. They cannot be trusted. ALP policy might be in Limbo, but the LNP's is in treachery.

[red dragin]

Day 755 of rail fail.

Net gain of 54 so at this rate would take another 5 years 10 months to get to target of 200. 

(Rate will increase hopefully, but they will still need more post CRR).

Considering that the schools are continuously starting and not waiting until one group has completed the entire program before starting the next school, then yes, it will be shorter.

You'd really have to take out the time taken for them to pull their fingers out to work plus the lost crew during that time, and then start from the lower total drivers plus new crew less left crew, to work out the accurate figure.

[#Metro]

I have been thinking about the on time running statistics.

And how NGR trains are removed if they are late due to a fault.

I am wondering, is there some way to push the OTR to above 100%?

Can someone work out some technicality or unusual definition or justification to adjust the statistics so that we can go above 100?

[ozbob]

Day 755 of rail fail.

Net gain of 54 so at this rate would take another 5 years 10 months to get to target of 200. 

(Rate will increase hopefully, but they will still need more post CRR).

Considering that the schools are continuously starting and not waiting until one group has completed the entire program before starting the next school, then yes, it will be shorter.

You'd really have to take out the time taken for them to pull their fingers out to work plus the lost crew during that time, and then start from the lower total drivers plus new crew less left crew, to work out the accurate figure.

We are not really to privy to that information.  The ' rate ' is just a guide.  It was us who forced Minister Bailey and others to actually starting talking about the net gains.  Remember they were really misrepresenting the situation (another example of duplicitous deception - they have a lot of form sadly) .  At least now we know what the real gain is overall, and frankly +54 is poor by any standard after two years.  But as I have indicated I do expect the rate to accelerate a bit from here. 

But what is really concerning Red Dragin is the CEO of Queensland Rail will not make any commitments to when some timetable recovery will occur.  You know why?  I reckon it is because of the second meal break, which comes in February.  It is going to turn a very inefficient operator in terms of labour management into one that is diabolical.  They will struggle to deliver even this present mess of reduced service I reckon.   It is a big big worry ...

[red dragin]

Thanks OzBob. I thought we'd seem some figures somewhere along the line. I guess, you'd probably only knock ~12-15 months off the total (the time taken for the first school to complete).

Hopefully they are already working on run cards for that second meal break.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1055538157435805696

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/nedlukies/status/1055697745946660864

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily --> Ghost trains: No clues about 'missing' new trains

QUEENSLAND Rail still can't say when it will provide the nine new daily train services promised to the region in 2016.

The five new northbound and four southbound services were promised to service the Sunshine Coast when the new Redcliffe line opened in late 2016.

Former Independent Speaker and Nicklin MP Peter Wellington said in May, 2015, that the new services would provide nine extra daily services, four from the Coast and five from Brisbane, providing access to and from Brisbane on the hour.

More than two years later the region is still waiting for those additional rail services.

A massive driver shortage hit the southeast in 2016 which resulted in more than 470 fewer services while the State Government has worked to reinforce driver numbers.

Coupled with major problems with the $4.4 billion New Generation Rollingstock including disability access issues, the 'rail fail' has left Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy unable to say when Coast commuters could expect improved timetables.

"The NGR fleet will gradually commence operating across the southeast Queensland network, including the Sunshine Coast line, as more trains are commissioned and complete routine testing," Mr Easy said.

"Improving our timetable is a key priority for our organisation which is why we're working hard to increase our train crew supply and implement the recommendations of the Strachan Commission of Inquiry.

"We will introduce incremental timetable improvements to our network as soon as we are in a position to sustainably do so."

New stabling facilities have already been built at Woombye and Elimbah to house the new fleet of trains.

The Elimbah facility has been in use since April 2018 and can cater for up to eight trains, while Woombye, which will become "fully operational" as the fleet was delivered, can hold four trains.

The Woombye stabling yard had only been used "periodically" since March 2018, but Mr Easy said stabling activity increased since late September.

Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Owen Doogan said he understood the Woombye stabling yard was not at a stage where it could be fully used yet and he didn't expect it to become a "major player" in the southeast network.

Sunshine Coast Rail Back On Track spokesman Jeff Addison said it was "continually disappointing" that they couldn't even get a timeline on when the new train services would begin and the State Government didn't seem to care.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1058014543958265856

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1059113450205413376

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/cberkman/status/1059339133343096832

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1059534595345895424

[ozbob]

An all day long  procession of various disruptions on the rail network yesterday.

Frankly. I am really beginning to doubt if Queensland Rail will ever recover and turn out a truly frequent, reliable and stable rail service.

They seem to be focused on the all the wrong things - ' the customer '  - constantly being told by the customer that the present circus is not good enough.  They need to focus on operating the railway better. They are far too top heavy, a board that seems ineffective, a bloated executive leadership team that just seems to grow with more high cost  ' do-littles '.  I have been told by inside sources that morale is not good, the culture is still off the rails.  The fact that they were prepared to secretly adjust the contractual OTR is a sure sign. 

The next big test will be in February 2019 when a two meal break train crew EB agreement starts to bite.  I wonder if they will be able even to deliver the present substandard timetables. 

Queensland Rail were once a good operator.  That can no longer be said IMHO.

Some times you just have to get rid of the broken animal and start again.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail Board as of 8 Nov 2018

David Marchant AM - Interim Chair
Stephen Cantwell
Renaye Peters
Heather Watson

https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/governance/board

[ozbob]

Executive Leadership Team as of 8 Nov 2018

Nick Easy CEO
Michelle Barrett  A/ Executive General Manager People and Culture
Jim Benstead  A/​ Executive General Manager Commercial and Strategy and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Scott Cornish Executive General Manager, Safety, Risk & Assurance
Chris Keye A/ Executive General Manager Network
Nick King Executive General Manager Citytrain
Rob McAlpine Executive General Manager Projects
Natalie Roach Executive General Manager Customer Service and Innovation
Martin Ryan Executive General Manager Travel and Tourism

https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/governance/elt

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1060263635082108928

[ozbob]

My suggested ELT structure would be:

1. CEO

2. EGM Operations
3. EGM Network and infrastructure
4. EGM HR, Finance, Legal



Restructure QR so that a Board is no longer needed.  They have just overseen failure.

[ozbob]

Interviews on ABC Radio Brisbane Breakfast 9th November 2018

Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan  interview Robert Dow RBoT, then Mr Nick Easy CEO Queensland Rail

Here > https://backontrack.org/docs/abcbris/abcbris_rdne9nov18.mp3 16.3 MB

Mr Easy was asked directly when full timetable would be restored by Craig Zonca.  Mr Easy was unable to give a date.

Is this really acceptable on day 773 of #railfail?  I think not.  How on the earth are they doing their workforce planning?  Has the changes to the meal breaks in February 2019 got them rattled?

Queensland Rail is an outfit that seems unable to recover from #railfail.  Serious questions need to be asked as to what they are actually doing?  They are increasingly becoming a major concern.  I think there is a lot of internal dysfunction. The Minister for Transport has not much clue as to what is really going on is my guess.  He just prattles that contractual ontime running is > 95%   

[ozbob]

 

[BrizCommuter]

Was at Ipswich Railway Museum today. Three 260 series trains and #107 in the workshops. No wonder there are still loads of 3-car services!

[ozbob]

Was at Ipswich Railway Museum today. Three 260 series trains and #107 in the workshops. No wonder there are still loads of 3-car services!

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

12th November 2018

Call for a real  committment to the return of a normal Citytrain timetable

Good Morning,

During an interview on ABC Radio Brisbane Breakfast on the 9th November 2018, Mr Easy was asked directly by Craig Zonca when the full rail timetable would be restored.  Mr Easy was unable to give any real indication other than that '" ... we are still working on it "  ( https://backontrack.org/docs/abcbris/abcbris_rdne9nov18.mp3 ).

Today is day 774 of railfail.  Is this really acceptable on day 774 of railfail?  I think not.  How on the earth is Queensland Rail doing their workforce planning?  Has the changes to the meal breaks for train crew in February 2019 got them rattled?  Is a second wave of railfail on the way?

Queensland Rail is an outfit that seems increasingly unable to recover from railfail.  Serious questions need to be asked as to what they are actually doing?  They are becoming a major concern.   The Minister for Transport seems to have not much of a clue as to what is really going on it seems.  He just prattles that contractual ontime running is > 95%, he needs to start demanding recovery timelines and properly disseminating these to the public.

Is the fact that Queensland Rail is treating NGR faults and consequential delays as ' force majeure '  having an influence on which trains are given priority on the network so that they can influence on-time running contractual?  They don't seem to understand the problems with the loss of connections either, when they close either the main or suburban tracks  through the CBD during the day and creating much confusion and delay.

An event yesterday on the rail network  ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1862.msg216207#msg216207 ):

was hoping to catch a 9.15am train to richlands ex roma st.

NGR train ended up leaving roma st @ 9.24 due to random platform closures through the city which resulted in the Cleveland/springfield trains sharing the same platform with the 9.20 Cleveland service scoring priority leaving right on schedule @ 9.20am....springfield train lost out suffering the 8 minute delay...
Add on another 4 minutes stuck at Milton because of door problems...so train running 12 minutes late by toowong...
Hourly rail - bus connection wrecked: 460 outbound....53 mins wait for next service.

This is another reason why there must be transparency with the reporting of on-time running contractual and NGR trains.  There is now a perception that Queensland Rail trains are being prioritised over NGR trains.

Not a very satisfactory situation at all.  Some real leadership is needed to get things cracking.

Best wishes,

Robert

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

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1061646736328863744

[ozbob]

Facebook ...

[Stillwater]

Could it be said that we are seeing TWO rail operators, each competing with the other on the Citytrain network?  The first is QR and the second is the operators of the NGR trains.  QR has the upper hand under this scenario (due to on-time running and bonuses linked to what will be 44 per cent of the total fleet)and could not give two hoots for the NGR operator.  This needs a radical review by government.  Hellooooooooo ..... Mr Bailey?

[#Metro]

No. NGR consortia is not an operator. It supplies and maintains trains.
An operator provides scheduled services.

[ozbob]

The Minister and QR keep claiming that even with the NGR taken into account OTR was > 95%.

The solution is simple - just include the NGRs as for the other ' QR ' trains. It is about time QR was told to do the obvious.

This is now a real test for Mr Bailey. Is he up to it? 🐒

[#Metro]

I think the ownership / maintenance argument is really a bit of an administrative technicality.

It is common to contract out maintenance to a third party. Metro trains Melbourne contracts out to a subsidiary of Metro its maintenance IIRC.

If the State owns the NGR trains (thorough DTMR), and QR is the State as well, then they are govt trains.

IIRC Metro trains Melbourne doesn't own its trains either. They are public property.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

12th November 2018

Just treat the NGRs the same as other QR rollingstock for contractual on-time running

Greetings,

There is a very obvious and simple solution to the issue with the NGR train faults leading to delays being treated as ' force majeure ' and not considered at present in contractual OTR.  Just include them.

Reasoning is as follows. The Minister and Queensland Rail keep claiming that even with the NGR taken into account OTR was > 95% so what is the issue? Railways commonly contract out maintenance to third parties. The State owns the NGR trains (through DTMR), the State really owns the trains that Queensland Rail maintain and operate.  What is the difference the end?

NGR trains will represent 56% of the operating train fleet when all are in service.  It is absurd proposition to think that the contractual OTR will have any meaning based on only 44% of the operating train fleet.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12649.msg216220#msg216220 ]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1061783923041087488

[ozbob]

There is no way you make up this mad stuff going on hey?   

It truly is just ... BIZARRE ! 

[achiruel]

I think the ownership / maintenance argument is really a bit of an administrative technicality.

It is common to contract out maintenance to a third party. Metro trains Melbourne contracts out to a subsidiary of Metro its maintenance IIRC.

If the State owns the NGR trains (thorough DTMR), and QR is the State as well, then they are govt trains.

IIRC Metro trains Melbourne doesn't own its trains either. They are public property.

Metro contracts out maintenance. QR doesn't. DTMR does. Metro has control over their maintenance contracts, QR doesn't. QR ought not be penalised for the incompetence of DTMR in ordering sub par rolling stock and failing to maintain/repair it correctly.

Of course this does not help the passenger. The question ought to be asked: what contractual obligation does Bombardier have to maintain reliable rolling stock? Should DTMR be pursuing Bombardier because of the unreliability of the NGR?

[#Metro]

QR ought not be penalised for the incompetence of DTMR in ordering sub par rolling stock and failing to maintain/repair it correctly.

Interesting point.

But QR cannot be "penalised" in any context anyway. There are no consequences for not meeting contractual obligations because QR IMHO holds an implied government guarantee of contract renewal.

What is the Queesland Govt going to do each month the trains run a bit late? It doesn't look like much can be done about it.

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail presently has absolute rights in terms of NGR acceptance in terms of operating the NGRs.  If they are not up to scratch QR should not accept them for service.

Queensland Rail has and uses third parties all the time eg. https://bit.ly/2JWE9X0

It is bullsh%t to not include the NGRs in contractual OTR in my view. Both Queensland Rail and the Minister have said they are not problem with reliability.   I think it is just Queensland Rail cracking the sh%ts with TMR.  They are not best buddies, but why that should overrule commonsense and what is right is just pathetic.  The Minister needs to grow a set and simply tell QR to stop the OTR games, treat the NGRs the same as all rollingstock,  and move on with getting a better rail service timetable in place ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1061837071893979136

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

13th November 2018

Re: Just treat the NGRs the same as other QR rollingstock for contractual on-time running

Good Morning,

Continuing on with why the New Generation Rollingstock trains should be treated the same as any of the Queensland Rail trains for the purposes of contractual on-time running compilation.

On the page https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance/service-punctuality-and-reliability Queensland Rail state in part " and third party rollingstock faults including the New Generation Rollingstock fleet which is not owned or maintained by Queensland Rail. "

The State of Queensland really owns the trains, be it the ones claimed to be owned by Queensland Rail or the New Generation Rollingstock trains.  As far as not maintained by Queensland Rail, Queensland Rail has and uses third parties to maintain trains they claim to be their own.  See Ministerial Media Statement of 28/03/2011  $20 million train contract a boost for Maryborough workers (Ministerial Media Statement) http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/74160

So Queensland Rail's feeble excuses for quarantining the NGR trains for the purposes of contractual on-time running determination are nonsense.

It is time Minister Bailey directed Queensland Rail to simply include the NGR trains in the same way as all the rollingstock for the purposes of contractual on-time running.  There are far more important tasks, like getting on with delivering a better rail service timetable than playing stupid petty games of dispute with TMR, and living in silos. Today is day 775 of rail fail!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12649.msg216232#msg216232 ]