Queensland Rail

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1064537788584910854

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

20th November 2018

Do you want cash with that?

Good Morning,

Queensland Rail train crew are still doing a lot of overtime.  No surprise is it when you consider the net gains in train crew.  It is day 782 of rail fail today, the situation is very unacceptable now.  No definite timeline committment to timetable improvements.  We are feed up with the  dribble and spin trotted out.  What is needed is real service improvement. Trotting out manipulated contractual on-time running statistics as some sort of justification for proof of improvement does not cut the mustard. The continuing reduced service rail timetables is the ongoing sign of failure.

The Minister for Transport when pressed on ABC Radio was unable to give a direct committment, rather electing to throw Queensland Rail under the bus that the introduction of the second meal break will not be without issues. We have an assurance from the CEO of Queensland Rail that the introduction of the second meal break will not reduce services.  It certainly won't allow service improvements anytime soon will it?

Couriermail --> Queensland Rail driver earns $210k in a year

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland Rail train drivers pocket tens of thousands in overtime

Very sad days for our Citytrain network.  Will it ever recover? Will the trains be fixed?  No, it appears not under the present regime of blunder and massive cost.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

18th November 2018

Rail fail is costly, real costly ...

Good Morning,

Massive overtime bill continues at Queensland Rail.

Couriermail --> Queensland Rail train drivers clock up $31 million in overtime since 2016 'rail fail'

No surprise when you consider these basic facts. Minister Bailey said the other day they were 48 train drivers short when recovery started.  A gain of only 54 drivers (net) means that Queensland Rail is really only better off to the tune of 6 train drivers.  It is day 780 of rail today, this simple analysis is alarming is it not?  When Queensland Rail train crew go from one meal break to two meal breaks per shift in February 2019 this means in essence that footplate time will have to be reduced from the present ~ 33%.  Will Queensland Rail be able to deliver the present reduced service timetables let alone any improvements? We doubt it.  No wonder the Minister and Queensland Rail are vague about any restoration of normal services. Fasten your seat belts, rail fail 2 is on the way!

Maybe it is time that a broom went through the over-bloated Queensland Rail Executive Leadership Team and the ineffective Queensland Rail Board.  Transport and Main Roads and TransLink are equally incompetent and need sorting. They have all presided over the ruination of our Citytrain rail network.  More cash bonuses?

Best wishes,

Robert

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

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1064547056096694272

[ozbob]

We have seen through the banking royal commission the scandalous circumstances in which senior people at the major banks chase fat bonuses and commissions at the expense of their customers best interests. I ask: In what way is the leadership team at QR any different?  In order to meet KPIs that are linked directly to their paid bonuses, they are excluding NGR trains from on time running scrutiny and are directing that trains skips stations to ensure trains arrive at their destinations within target parameters.  Isn't that a case of giving the finger to the customer while pursuing an artificial performance construct that shows them in the best possible light?  Bugger the customer/passenger.  What would happen if the QR bosses' bonuses were linked to the measure of customer satisfaction?  After all, QR is always telling us that it has a 'customer first' philosophy. Let them be paid accordingly.

The bloating starts at the top - the ELT < too many fat cats. The Board, an utter irrelevance.

The trains that are altered to skip and subsequently arrive on time are counted as on time.  However I will point out the numbers are relatively small, and would not make more than 0.1 % of a difference.  However, it doesn't pass the pub test and looks and is bad to the average punter.  Skipped services should not be treated as ontime.  It is the right thing to do.

[achiruel]

There should be a monthly report on stations skipped. Is this metric reported anywhere?

[ozbob]

https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance/service-punctuality-and-reliability

Toggle for skipped stations. We have a thread on skipped stations in the timetable sub-forum stickied.

[achiruel]

https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance/service-punctuality-and-reliability

Toggle for skipped stations. We have a thread on skipped stations in the timetable sub-forum stickied.

Quite massive increase over the previous year!

July +308%
Aug +170%
Sep +278%

The Minister should be explaining the reason behind these huge increases in skipped stations.

[ozbob]

You. We highlight it from time to time.

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1061293072942690304

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 21st November 2018 page 17

Rail fail has gone on too long

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Queensland Rail chairman Phillip Strachan quit over government interference

QUEENSLAND Rail chairman Phillip Strachan quit the board last month over Government interference in his agenda to transform QR's poor culture in the wake of the "Rail Fail."

The Courier-Mail has obtained correspondence under Right to Information legislation from Mr Strachan to QR's shareholding ministers, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Transport Minister Mark Bailey, penned in the lead-up to his resignation following a row over bonuses.

Mr Strachan wrote to the ministers on October 3, a day after they signed off on blocking QR from paying $3.6 million in bonuses to about 384 of its senior executives and managers.

Mr Strachan, who was put in charge of overseeing QR's recovery in 2017, argues in the letter that performance criteria had been set for staff in July 2017 and submitted to the Government.

He continued that he spoke to Mr Bailey three times about the bonuses and the "direction it was heading, noting each time that the performance payment assessment was at the discretion of the Board" and had advised him of the outcome at his first opportunity. Mr Strachan argued that halting bonuses was inconsistent with the performance cultural change the Board was driving.

QR's poor culture was a key criticism of the 2017 findings on the train driver shortage inquiry led by Strachan before he was appointed chairman.

He says in the letter that it was particularly disappointing for staff to hear the bonuses had been cancelled via the media "when all have worked extremely hard to recover and stabilise the business."

"Many employees have worked extraordinary hours during the past 12 months," he says. "The Board's focus has also been to change the culture of QR and rebuild the business.

"To that end we have added new senior leadership to the team over the past 12 months, none of who were with the business when the timetable failed in 2016 and the Board was looking to reward that contribution."

Mr Strachan sent a brief resignation on October 4, noting: "It is unfortunate that I do not have your ongoing support." Two board members quit after his resignation, including Sandra Birkensleigh, who told the ministers QR staff had been "maligned and treated with disdain".

The ministers' October 2 direction letter states QR had failed to meet the key objective to restore a full timetable and bonuses were out of line with "community expectation."

"QR continues to face significant challenges in recruiting a surplus of train crew, reducing overtime to sustainable levels, restoring the timetable to pre-October 2016 levels and rebuilding public confidence in the Citytrain system."

[ozbob]

^ The Minister for Transport Mr Bailey was correct in my view to stop the bonuses.  Simply not acceptable in the context of the ongoing rail fail (day 785 today and no restoration in sight) and I think the former Chair and Board generally showed a lack of sophistication in approving them in the first place.  Most of the working population toil away for a basic salary, no additional cash payments for most.  Many people work hard, that is just a fact of life.

This article confirms for me once again that the ELT is bloated.  Need a sharp focused team that just gets on with it. Culture is still stuffed.  Hiding the adjustment of the contractual on-time running re NGRs another sign.  I wrote to Queensland Rail seeking information re ETCS and Central Station upgrade 29th October 2018, no response.  Follow up emails also have been ignored.  This is in the breach of their customer charter.  I will give them to the end of the week and then I will write to the Board Chair pointing out the basic communication failures of Queensland Rail.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1065623295448375296

[Stillwater]

We have seen the politicisation of transport in Queensland, with policy being reduced to a series of grace and favour announcements designed to make the government look good among residents of marginal electorates.  The ministerial direction provisions are there, and should be there, for use in exceptional circumstances. Transparency is important in such circumstances, but this government is inconsistent on that point.

[SABB]

I would like to offer another perspective on the QR bonus cancellation.
There are a number of QR staff on the bonus scheme who had no part in the cause of QR RailFail eg track and bridge maintenance.  During the coal boom, QR began to bleed staff to the resource industry. There was no way that QR could match the salaries because of the QR EBA. The only option was to put those staff on special contracts. The special contracts offered a small pay rise (10% when the resource industry was offering 30% more) plus a bonus. The catch was that, under a special contract, you didn't get over-time. Most of the work undertaken by this group has to occur at night or on weekend closures. Those not on contract get overtime, those on contract do it anyway. They generally have to sign-off that the work has been completed to standard, so they have to be there.
Is it fair to punish them as well.

[ozbob]

I don't think they are being punished.  The bonuses blocked by the Minister were for 384 of its senior managers and executives. 
Frontline staff are not affected as they are under EBs etc.

The bonuses have always been linked to performance outcomes.  Queensland Rail has been far too slow to respond to the train crew crisis.

If any do feel they are being punished they should take it up with their Senior Management.

[ozbob]

We have seen the politicisation of transport in Queensland, with policy being reduced to a series of grace and favour announcements designed to make the government look good among residents of marginal electorates.  The ministerial direction provisions are there, and should be there, for use in exceptional circumstances. Transparency is important in such circumstances, but this government is inconsistent on that point.

The roll out of park 'n' ride projects and upgrades a classic case.  No logic or consistent policy framework.  It is all political driven favour.

Sadly the Feds are doing much the same.   

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Queensland Rail board member hits out at government in resignation letter

One of the three board members of Queensland Rail (QR) who quit last month has delivered a spray on the way out to Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Transport Minister Mark Bailey.

Sandra Birkensleigh's resignation letter, obtained by the ABC through a Right to Information request, spells out her disgust at the duo's treatment of Queensland Rail chairman Phillip Strachan and Queensland Rail senior executives amid the public furore over the payment of bonuses.

    "It is unfathomable to me that those that have strived so diligently ... could be so maligned and treated with distain (sic) for their dedication, commitment, vision and achievement against quite frankly all the odds," Ms Birkensleigh said.

Two days before the letter was written, Ms Trad and Mr Bailey had written to Mr Strachan officially directing him and the board to cancel $3.6 million in performance bonuses approved for executive staff for the 2017-18 year because of ongoing problems on the QR network.

A letter signed by both ministers on October 2 stated: "We consider the payment of executive bonuses ... would be inconsistent with community expectations."

Mr Strachan fired his own letter back on October 3, saying he would obey their direction but that some of the 384 people in line for bonuses had not done anything wrong and bonuses were a key part of the remuneration in individual contracts.

"We have added new senior leadership to the team over the past 12 months, none of who were with the business when the timetable failed in 2016 and the board was looking to reward their contribution," Mr Strachan wrote.

A day later, he followed that up with a three-sentence resignation letter.

"It is unfortunate that I do not have your ongoing support," Mr Strachan wrote on October 4.

Also handing in their resignations were fellow board members Paul Willis and Ms Birkensleigh.

"Queensland Rail is the poorer for Phillip's resignation," Ms Birkensleigh wrote to Ms Trad and Mr Bailey.

"You as its shareholders are now bereft of an amazing talent.

"His resignation does not serve the people of Queensland and you are responsible for that."

In a statement, Mr Bailey said the Queensland Rail board's decision to pay bonuses was an error of judgement and his "view on bonuses has always been clear".

"The Palaszczuk Government's focus is on improving rail services for commuters, and paying executive and management performance bonuses does not align with our expectations or the community's," he said.

Ms Trad has been contacted for comment.

[SABB]

I don't think they are being punished.  The bonuses blocked by the Minister were for 384 of its senior managers and executives. 
Frontline staff are not affected as they are under EBs etc.

The bonuses have always been linked to performance outcomes.  Queensland Rail has been far too slow to respond to the train crew crisis.

If any do feel they are being punished they should take it up with their Senior Management.

If you sign a special contract, you are taken out of the EBA. That is the only way that you can be paid more than the EBA allows.  QR asked the union if they could modify the EBA so that they could match the salaries that were being offered to poach technical staff. Obviously the Union said no. QR then went to the special contracts for those who were being poached.

[ozbob]

I suppose more attention should have been given to the bonuses and the terms for payment on all sides when making and accepting the contracts.

Queensland Rail bonuses were paid almost as routine, it is only the last two years they have been stopped.  Bonuses were paid as rail fail set in 2016 ( https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-rail-paid-bonuses-as-chaos-consumed-network-20161118-gssqbm.html ) which was done in a way that the Government could not stop them and they wanted to.  It was clear then that the future payment was going to be difficult. One cannot blame the Government stopping the bonuses since then.  If I was signing a contract it would not be contingent on bonuses.  The Government are correct in my view when the say the payment of bonuses is out of line with community expectations, particularly with the reduced rail service timetables.  ( Comments on the CM article https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-rail-paid-bonuses-as-chaos-consumed-network-20161118-gssqbm.html generally support the Governments position too).

If there is some service recovery by this time next year chances are bonuses may return.  If we still have a reduced service timetables the Government is not going to permit their payment more than likely.  If you are on a contract I would go for a different remuneration pattern.

[SurfRail]

"It is unfathomable to me that those that have strived so diligently ... could be so maligned and treated with distain (sic) for their dedication, commitment, vision and achievement against quite frankly all the odds," Ms Birkensleigh said.

Diddums.  I'm sure I'll remember your efforts when I'm checking the Friday only timetable you and your colleagues have forced on us.

[ozbob]

This is a graph that shows the various modes overall ratings for poor and very poor combined as a % over years 2014 through to 2017 on our annual survey.  I have been getting ready to process the 2018 survey results.  It is not hard to see why the Government had no real choice ..

[ozbob]

Couriermail 24th November 2018 page 3

Bailey slammed over his handling of QR bonuses

[#Metro]

The opposition is so boring. Didn't they say they supported no bonuses being given, now people resigned from the board because of that, they want to criticise the decision also?

What were the opposition going to do? Give the bonuses but also NOT give the bonuses simultaneously?

They are so ineffective, absolutely reflected in how little time they have been at the helm of government over the past 20 years.

[ozbob]

Putting the aside the politics for now I am somewhat flabbergasted how the Board and the Minister did not discuss the issue of bonuses in some detail before it blew up.  I recall the Minister saying early this year there would be no bonuses paid whilst the rail system was in a reduced service mode.  Why didn't the Board pick that up and go to bat directly with the Minister first?  All seems to be more miscommunication and misunderstanding.  Communication breakdown that could have and should have been avoided ..

[ozbob]

Day 799 of #railfail today. Friday #railfail timetable today, even less service and more gaps than the Monday <> Thursday timetable. 🥴
No timeline for recovery after 799 days, utter shambles .. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️
OTR a confected sham ... 🙄#qldpol
Fixing the trains? 🤬 pic.twitter.com/N1LsEWP8eg

— RAIL_BoT_Forum (@railbotforum) December 6, 2018

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1072943055685148672

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Despite a scramble to fill massive train driver shortage, 80 per cent of required positions still vacant

QUEENSLAND Rail's wages bill blew out by nearly $90 million last year as it scrambled to fill a massive train driver shortage, but 80 per cent of required new positions are still vacant, according to governments documents.

A report from the Queensland Auditor-General and two responses to questions on notice, all tabled in State Parliament last week, provided a bleak assessment of a massive recruitment effort to train new drivers in the wake of 2016's rail fail.

The Strachan inquiry into the rail fail, which was a series of mass cancellations and service disruptions across the network, recommended that 200 new drivers were needed to fix the system.

But the documents revealed that despite QR's wages bill ballooning by $86 million – going from $709 million to $795 million in the past financial year – and 10,000 applicants only 40 extra drivers have been added to the roster.

A further 15 tutors and five train operation inspectors have also come online, according to Transport Minister Mark Bailey.

Queensland Auditor-General Brendan Worrall's audit of the state's seven transport entities found the wages blow out was "primarily due to recruitment activities to increase the number of train drivers, guards and support staff to sustainably deliver more frequent services".

Opposition Transport Spokesman Steve Minnikin said it was a disgrace that the odds of an applicant getting a job with QR were 250 to one when the state was desperate for drivers.

"Despite recruiting just 40 extra drivers, QR's employment costs have soared by $86m," he said.

"It's outrageous that it appears to be costing taxpayers $2.15 million to recruit a single extra driver."

The Courier-Mail has previously revealed blow outs in QR's overtime bill and that sick leave was being taken in the organisation at a much higher level than expected.

Mr Bailey said the recruitment process for budding train drivers was "not dissimilar" to that faced by hopeful Queensland Police applicants with psychometric testing, health assessments and a panel interview.

"The recruitment process remains ongoing with more than 300 suitable external trainee driver and trainee guard applicants remaining in the selection process," he said in his response.

"Because of the interest in these highly sought-after roles, Queensland Rail selects only the highest performing applicants, while continuing to fill the available training school vacancies."

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1074317628250832896

[achiruel]

Lies and disinformation from the LNP as usual, quoting net gain as total recruitment. One day Minnikin might open his mouth without complete bs spiling out 

[JustSomeTrainGuy]

And how many of these 300 applicants will have moved on and found another job by the time QR are ready to accept them into their driver schools? I know I have...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1074462884753625088

[ozbob]

And how many of these 300 applicants will have moved on and found another job by the time QR are ready to accept them into their driver schools? I know I have...

It has been terrible how you and many others have been treated.  It is, and has been, an ongoing disaster.  Worthless apologies from Queensland Rail mean nothing in the end.

Failed management and government direction.   I have come to the conclusion that it is difficult to see how Queensland Rail as it is structured (bloated and self absorbed) will ever turn it all around.  It doesn't get better.  The fact they hid the contractual on-time running adjustment did it for me in the end.  Straight out duplicity.  What else is being manipulated?

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Queensland Rail fail: Train driver overhaul declared complete due to 'intent'

A "RAIL fail" report card declared a major train crew rostering overhaul had been completed because the "intent" of the project had been delivered.

It's the second time in a year the State Government's Citytrain Response Unit marked recommendations to fix the trains as having been completed when they had either been partially delivered or not at all.

The Government set up the Citytrain Response Unit in January 2017 to independently monitor the implementation of 36 recommendations of the Strachan inquiry into the train driver shortage that forced hundreds of service cancellations.

The network's timetable is yet to be fully restored by Queensland Rail following the October 2016, meltdown and no firm date has been given for the recovery.

In the unit's last progress report to the Government in June, it declared QR had completed a recommendation to accelerate the implementation of a new rostering system to more effectively avoid train service disruptions by being able to better forecast any issues under complex work rules and allocate train crew.

It involved installing a $5.8 million HASTUS computer program to replace a more than decade-old system described as "manually laborious and open to operator error".

But the computer program is yet to be fully installed despite the tender being awarded in late 2015. The program kicked off as early as 2009.

The Strachan inquiry recommended in early 2017 to accelerate the project, finding it fed into the rail crisis as QR relied on external providers to model the impact of crewing rules.

It said the project was targeting completion in 2017-18.

But project sources have told The Courier-Mail the software was yet to be fully rolled out, was running years late and was currently unable to be used for daily or weekly rostering of train crew.

It is understood the program is only being used to create the master roster in Queensland rather than overseas, but it currently has not been implemented to allocate train crews on a daily basis.

A QR spokeswoman said phase one was being used to develop master rosters and phase two would begin in February, and "enable us to achieve additional benefits and operation efficiencies".

An unidentified spokesman for the Citytrain Response Unit, in a statement, said the rostering system recommendation was closed in 2017 as the "intent ..was fully delivered".

It said QR had completed the recommendation as it no longer relied on external modelling of the impact of crewing rules after the delivery of phase one of the project.

The unit has previously come under attack from the State Opposition for approving a recommendation to recruit train drivers externally, despite not a single candidate being appointed from outside QR.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1079399593496834049

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1079400170033311745

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1079402357220245510

[Stillwater]

A $5.8 million computer program that can't spit out a daily or weekly train crew roster.  Is this the cause of the 'train cancelled due to rostering issue' notification we see regularly?

Tender awarded for the program's installation back in 2015!

Delays to Central Station works.  Delays to station upgrades, especially to provide for the needs of people with disabilities (not to mention delays to fixing NGR trains).

Delays to rollout of ETCS

No real progress on recruitment of drivers and guards, with pending failure in February

Delays in restoration of 2016 timetable

Lots of media opportunities re CRR, but not one cubic metre of subsoil disturbed to indicate that real construction is underway

More promises, no action on SCL duplication.

These are all signs of a system in crisis.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

A $5.8 million computer program that can't spit out a daily or weekly train crew roster.  Is this the cause of the 'train cancelled due to rostering issue' notification we see regularly?

Tender awarded for the program's installation back in 2015!

Delays to Central Station works.  Delays to station upgrades, especially to provide for the needs of people with disabilities (not to mention delays to fixing NGR trains).

Delays to rollout of ETCS

No real progress on recruitment of drivers and guards, with pending failure in February

Delays in restoration of 2016 timetable

Lots of media opportunities re CRR, but not one cubic metre of subsoil disturbed to indicate that real construction is underway

More promises, no action on SCL duplication.

These are all signs of a system in crisis.

Yo.  Layer after layer of bumble and failure ...  it is difficult to see this ending at all 

[#Metro]

New operator please!

Three years is enough time to draw the obvious conclusion... It's not working.

Time to call for expressions of interest in operating SEQ trains.

[verbatim9]

New operator please!

Three years is enough time to draw the obvious conclusion... It's not working.

Time to call for expressions of interest in operating SEQ trains.

[Stillwater]

TMR/QR will pass this off as a once-only glitch.  Every little things that goes wrong is seen in isolation, and dealt with that way.  These are all signs of systemic failure in administration and the organisational structure.  Yes, get the rostering computer system right, but look beyond that to the fundamental causes, because that is where the real problem lies.