Queensland Rail

[ozbob]

Union must relax train driver conditions, says QR Chief Phillip Strachan

[Stillwater]

Mark Furner elevated to Cabinet, but unlikely to be next Transport Minister.

COURIER MAIL REPORT:

MEMBER for Ferny Grove Mark Furner will replace Stirling Hinchliffe in the Queensland Cabinet after winning a close factional vote.

The Courier-Mail understands Mr Furner secured the vote of the majority of Labor Right's backbenchers to beat Member for Logan and Government Whip Linus Power.

Mr Furner, a former senator and the Government's most marginal MP, clinched the Cabinet spot from Mr Power by a vote of 7-5.

Mr Power was expected to be the favourite, and had the backing of the majority of the Right's Cabinet members, but it is understood the backbenchers last night decided not to fall in line with their senior colleagues.  One minister is believed to have voted with the backbenchers.

The appointment is expected to be formally endorsed by the Labor caucus on Friday, but The Courier-Mail understands Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke with Mr Furner tonight following a meeting of Labor's Right faction.

Ms Palaszczuk is understood not to have voted despite also being a member of the faction.

It is understood Mr Furner is unlikely to take on the Transport portfolio however, with Ms Palaszczuk to announce how she will divvy up Mr Hinchliffe's Transport and Commonwealth Games portfolios in a Cabinet reshuffle on Friday.  There is a strong push for Deputy Premier Jackie Trad to regain Transport, which she held before the ministry was expanded at the end of 2015.

Several ministers are believed to have informed Ms Palaszczuk they would prefer to stay in their current portfolios and continue their policy work.

Former Commonwealth Games minister Kate Jones – who currently presides over Education, Tourism and Major Events — could be handed back the Games portfolio, with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate one of those lobbying for the move.

Ms Palaszczuk — who flew to Cairns this afternoon after announcing Queensland had earned $52 billion from exports last year, up seven per cent — has said the reshuffle would be minor.

[ozbob]

I have spoken with the DP and said we have concerns with a Minister with too many portfolios.

The task of sorting out the transport mess is a huge one.  It is a lot more than just Queensland Rail ...

We will have to see what the Premier does tomorrow!

[#Metro]

Jackie Trad MP

Deputy Premier of Queensland
Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
Minister for Trade and Investment
Minister for Transport
Member for South Brisbane

One area per week day!

[ozbob]

Hello ...   

Roads Minister @MarkBaileyMP "open to" adding Transport but it's up to @AnnastaciaMP @abcbrisbane @abcnews #qldpol

— Chris O'Brien (@COBrienBris) February 8, 2017

[Stillwater]

Don't hold your breath, Ozbob, Premier has said the change to her Cabinet will be 'minimalist'.  The worst of the Labor Party at play here -- tippytoeing with the unions over eba, factional moves to decide who from left-right-old guard to be in Cabinet and who gets what.  The general public and their welfare at the bottom of the pile when it comes to these issues.

People are kidding themselves if they think the main motivation for government is to fix QR mess.  It is to do the barest minimum to stop the bleed at the ballot box.

[petey3801]

Some more lovely Courier Mail "facts" being reported today. Like how traincrew somehow have so much control over what they do/how much productivity they have...

Regarding that freight driver who called you ozbob, why is it a surprise that he didn't get in? It was an INTERNAL recruitment, rightly or wrongly. If I applied for one of Sydney Trains' internal recruitments (yes, they do often do internal only recruiting), I wouldn't expect to hear back either, because i'm not already working for that organisation. Internal recruitment = no external applications are taken, it's really quite that simple.

Training:
Yes, 18 months for training is quite unacceptable, but has only recently gone this way. Before all this BS, the average was around the 12 month mark, which is quite acceptable IMO with the network that we have. Comparing it to German networks is a red herring as they have full ATP (which takes pressure off route knowledge, depending on the level of ATP) and generally less speed changes etc. compared to what we face here. Sydney averages around 14 months (IIRC) for driver training, which is more comparable to here (as they have no ATP as yet, have a similar route knowledge level requirement with many speed changes due to legacy networks etc.). The current training length problem is something that is already being worked on to speed up training.. 9 months is a bit short for an average target IMO. Some might do it, but in general, I think somewhere around the 12 month mark is a better target.

Recruitment:
Hiring externally will do bugger all to reduce the average training time. Once again, 18 month training times are a very recent development and are simply due to not having enough tutors. I personally have no objection to external recruitment either. However, the recruitment drive for 200 new drivers has already been completed AAUI (not 100% sure on the second 100, but it would be very close to completion if it isn't already completed). Everyone demanding that QR start hiring externally immediately would mean one of two things:
1) External advertising starts in the very near future, but successful applicants won't be taken in to school until (say) sometime in 2019 when the current recruits have been exhausted (who is going to put their life on hold for 2 years in the hope that nothing changes and they'll get in to the driving school?!), or:
2) The current recruits of the 200 that haven't already started school will be told they have been dumped and will have to reapply with the externals, thereby throwing their lives back in to massive uncertainty and also putting the whole recruitment phase back by several months.
IMO what should happen is to let things go as they currently are, then once the last school of the current 200 recruits is (give or take) 6 months away from starting, start the new recruitment allowing external and internal applicants so they are ready to go soon after the last of the current schools starts.

Productivity:
There is so much here that isn't being publicised (why would they want to print a fair story when they can print a sensationalist one?). Traincrew come to work, do their shift that has been made by management and go home. The major reasons for the drop in "productivity" are, IMO, some of the numerous operational changes that have been made over the past few years that traincrew and the unions have little to no say in and even the timetable changes have caused a reduction in "productivity" (throttle time) due to the changed turnaround times at many stations (Beenleigh - around 30mins, Coopers Plains - 24mins [IIRC], Ferny Grove [when running at 30min frequency] - 32mins, Northgate - 24mins) - That's certainly not the fault of traincrew or the unions! The 20min break didn't help things in that regard.

Communication is, and has always been since i've been in Brisbane, a major problem that really does need fixing, 10 years ago. It is quite sad that it is still such a major problem. Fix the communication and a lot of problems disappear, as well as much of the angst from the traveling public.

Overtime: I'm really struggling to see how the media is linking the large overtime bill with the unions and traincrew... Unions don't control recruitment (well, apart from that clause in the agreement, but i'm talking about actually conducting recruitment here, not how it is conducted), they don't control the roster! If there is a shortage, then more overtime is worked. If it isn't, well, trains are cancelled. That simple, really! Can't find it right now, but someone said earlier in the under/oversupply discussion that QR should aim for enough crews to work the roster, with extras and short term leave etc. covered by overtime. That's pretty much what I mean about slight undersupply. Running with an oversupply means that all those things are covered by reguarly rostered crews, with more still sitting around doing jack. That is quite a wasteful way of working long-term. Short-term is ok if there are plans for increased services in the near future etc., which will soak up the extra crews. And no matter what it says in the report, ask any Sydney Trains driver or guard and they will tell you they are certainly not working with an oversupply at the current stage! It might be Sydney Trains' current aim, but they certainly aren't there at the moment, and haven't for some time.

Sectorisation:
Sectorisation works well in theory, particularly for people who don't know how things work. Current running in QR doesn't have every depot running every line (for instance, only Ipswich depot shifts run the Rosewood line, and Ipswich depot doesn't go to the Gold Coast; Only Caboolture/Nambour/Gympie shifts, with one or two Mayne shifts, go north of Caboolture etc). But full sectorisation has been tried and has failed many times in QR. It just isn't practical with out network. Drivers get complacent and bored, which leads to mistakes. Crews lose route competancy on other lines, so when things go wrong, it takes much longer to get things running properly again because there is such little flexibility available for crews to work other trains. Having new trainees working only one corridor for a certain time to speed up training is also problematic for the same reasons above, as well as others such as the requirement to make multiple sets of jobcards for each depot, one set for regular drivers, one set for drivers only able to work one through route. It also means two sets of master rosters running in each depot. It makes it harder to fill shifts if some people can only work certain jobs. Makes it more difficult to ensure everyone has the correct number of days on and off, correct number of hours per week (on average) etc. While none of this is insurmountable, it makes things much more difficult than it needs to be. With the changes in training that are happening, it will speed things up significantly back to where it should be.

The fact that both political parties got off scot free in the report is, to be honest, absolute crap. Both have failed QR, very badly in many ways (this is by no way exhonerating QR either, they certainly have their own problems). The training regime up until around 5 years ago was quite good, very thorough and resulted generally in good drivers. The massive cuts to the training program really hurt that regime and were the catalyst for the current major problems and is something that takes time to come back from, unfortunately. The good thing is that the recovery is underway and will hopefully start bearing fruit in the relatively near future.

[ozbob]

Thanks for those informed comments Petey.  It is good to know.

Yes, politics  has been a major part of the problem - both ALP and LNP (DP admitted as much on ABC Radio the other day too),
and looks like continuing to be so unless the penny drops.  I have commented publicly that politics has a lot to do with the problems too.

I hope they can turn it around, I really do.

[BrizCommuter]

^ Thanks for the detailed post.

[ozbob]

Blaming Queensland Rail (albeit somewhat deservedly ) as the sole cause of this failure is bullsh%t.

A series of under-performing incompetent Governments and poor Ministerial direction have not helped.

Incompetents in TransLink and TMR have compounded the mess.

Only proper reform such was what we have outlined in terms of Public Transport Queensland will work from here.

This recovery plan for Queensland Rail is nonsense in the main, because it is not addressing the wider systemic organisational failures.

Sorry guys, we have a mega-basket case now for SEQ. Failure now is synonymous with SEQ.

I agree absolutely that it is crap re blame absolution for politics Petey.  And said so.

But I think what the Commission report actually said in effect was that ' no evidence found of political failure ' or words to that effect, which is just being slimy hey?

QR gets going again good. But we still have the broader issues. Non-integration of network, organisational silos all over the place, communication issues, inefficiency, replication >> incompetence.  The present Government could save itself by going about proper reform. 

We have showed how this could be done, they just need to do it now, or it is Bye Bye!

[Stillwater]

Thanks for your insight, Petey.

[#Metro]

So, let me get this straight, the QR Board and QR Executive after five months gets to keep their jobs?

How is that possible??

Yes, politics  has been a major part of the problem - both ALP and LNP (DP admitted as much on ABC Radio the other day too),
and looks like continuing to be so unless the penny drops.  I have commented publicly that politics has a lot to do with the problems too.

Queensland Rail needs to be independent of government. Politicians would not be able to apply a public servants cuts program if Queensland Rail's employees were not public servants.

[verbatim9]

It's unfortunate that Train drivers are paid up to 100,000 gran a year but only operate trains for 29℅ of their paid time according to the BT article a couple days back. So are train drivers treated the same as airline pilots for safety standards and anti fatigue Rostering. Hence operating trains only 29℅ of their paid week?

[Stillwater]

see Petey's explanation in another thread re 'throttle time'.

[verbatim9]

Thanks, read it, but I think the Salary packaging for train drivers are a bit excessive compared to productive output. Getting paid similar as a pilot to a low cost airline is a bit worrying in the long term for an affordable commuter network.

JetBlue has the lowest maximum captain's salary,$123,400.

[ozbob]

SWORN IN: Mark Furner will join State Cabinet tomorrow, as the Premier says she's still to decide who will be the next Transport Minister pic.twitter.com/aqaJ28JSPE

— TEN News Queensland (@tennewsqld) February 9, 2017

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland cabinet: Premier to announce minor cabinet changes on Friday

It could be considered the job nobody would want, but within the next 24 hours, Queensland's new transport minister will be sworn in at Government House.

Stirling Hinchliffe resigned as transport and Commonwealth Games minister on Monday as the Strachan report into failings at Queensland Rail was made public.

Mr Hinchliffe had fended off calls to resign for months over the driver shortage at QR, and fell on his sword despite the inquiry revealing neither the LNP nor Labor were to blame.

Member for Ferny Grove Mark Furner won a vote against whip Linus Power on Wednesday night in Labor's Right faction, and is set to join cabinet, ahead of Parliament resuming on Valentine's Day.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's new ministers are due to be sworn in on Friday afternoon, with only a minor cabinet reshuffle expected.

A Labor caucus meeting will be held on Friday morning to formally sign off on Mr Furner's promotion to cabinet.

It is understood Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni is interested in the transport portfolio.

If Mr de Brenni was to get transport, he could relinquish one or both of his portfolios to Mr Furner.

It is unlikely that Mr Furner would receive the strife-prone transport portfolio, which will endure close scrutiny as the recommendations in the Strachan report unfold.

Mr Furner, Labor's most marginal MP, was a senator for six years in the Australian Parliament and currently heads a Parliamentary committee.

Mark Bailey, who has Main Roads, Road Safety, Ports, Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply, was also tipped as a potential transport minister.

But as a current member of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, it could be a bad look for the Palaszczuk government to appoint Mr Bailey as it negotiates with the unions over driver conditions at QR.

Mr Bailey said the vacancy was a matter for the Premier.

"I have absolute faith in her judgment that she'll make a very good decision in whoever that will be," he said.

Mr Bailey quit the Electrical Trade Union when he received his current role, but did not commit to any action over his membership at the RTBU.

"We would have to wait to see what the decision of the Premier is and see what that decision is first and then we'll cross any bridge if necessary," he said.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Bailey said he had not had a conversation with Ms Palaszczuk regarding portfolios.

"That's a matter for the Premier to make, should she wish to consult, I'm sure she will," he said.

Mr Bailey said Mr Furner would bring his experience to the cabinet table.

"He's very experienced, having spent six years in the Senate, he brings eight years of experience as an elected MP into the cabinet, that's something to be valued and I think Mark will do a very good job," he said.

Ms Palaszcuk said she would nominate Mr Furner at the caucus meeting on Friday.

"I think Mark will bring extensive experience, he has been a former senator for Queensland," she said.

"He's been a chair of the legal affairs committee, he's very hard-working and he will be a welcome addition to our cabinet."

When asked on Thursday morning about who might get what in the reshuffle, Ms Palaszczuk said: "I've made no decisions."

"I will make my decision overnight and you'll know about it tomorrow."

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad is acting Transport Minister this week, and could potentially re-assume the role, having previously served in the role.

Education and Tourism Minister Kate Jones, who has previously held Commonwealth Games, could also be in the running to pick up the portfolio again.

[ozbob]

 

[SABB]

Re this quote   'Queensland Rail needs to be independent of government. '
The state government subsidises QR to the tune of something like $300M per year.  QR's cost recovery would only be about 50 cents in the dollar. (I am guessing. It was about 40cents twenty years ago). How can QR be independent if it needs government money to pay its bills and wages.  If QR had to do full cost recovery, the fares would be so high that no one would be catching trains. So it is cheaper for the government to subsidise QR rather than build freeways. So QR can never be independent of the government. 
Also, all of the infrastructure (outside Aurizon's area) is owned by TMR. QR is paid by TMR to maintain the infrastructure in working order.

[petey3801]

Thanks, read it, but I think the Salary packaging for train drivers are a bit excessive compared to productive output. Getting paid similar as a pilot to a low cost airline is a bit worrying in the long term for an affordable commuter network.

JetBlue has the lowest maximum captain's salary,$123,400.

Train drivers around the (western) world are paid at comparitively similar rates to each other. I'd take most figures that come out of the media with a grain of salt, as it is very rare that the whole story is being told.
Also, it is quite well known that regional airline pilots, especially in the US, are on very low pay for what they do vs expectation.

[#Metro]

How can QR be independent if it needs government money to pay its bills and wages.

Surfside Buslines runs off government money but is a private business.

Public servants on the Gold Coast aren't driving buses. Most, if not all routes  are loss  making.

And I'll note further that while Newman was in office, staff at Surfside Buslines were not included in the public servant cuts program - because they weren't public servants.

We don't need public servants to drive trains, just like we don't need them to fly planes or drive taxis.

[verbatim9]

Thanks, read it, but I think the Salary packaging for train drivers are a bit excessive compared to productive output. Getting paid similar as a pilot to a low cost airline is a bit worrying in the long term for an affordable commuter network.

JetBlue has the lowest maximum captain's salary,$123,400.

Train drivers around the (western) world are paid at comparitively similar rates to each other. I'd take most figures that come out of the media with a grain of salt, as it is very rare that the whole story is being told.
Also, it is quite well known that regional airline pilots, especially in the US, are on very low pay for what they do vs expectation.

Just questioning the comparison of Train Driver wages Internationally within the G20. While in some countries Train drivers maybe remunerated similar to Queensland Train drivers they have Metro systems which are driverless and Driver only within their respective municipalities. I gather that Metro drivers are paid far less compared to their train driver counterparts. Since SEQ doesn't have a Metro system it is tried  to run as a pseudo Metro (frequency wise). Hence more trains, guards and drivers on high salaries that are unsustainable in the long run for a mass transit network. Plus the network doesn't meet standards of service delivery.

[#Metro]

Just questioning the comparison of Train Driver wages Internationally within the G20.

Wages (in theory) are set to supply / demand.

If you have an oversupply of (eligible) applicants, you are probably paying too much. If you have an undersupply of (eligible) applicants, you are probably paying too little.

So I wouldn't put much weight on "international comparisons".

There are things that complicate this picture, such as the "ratchet effect" where once a wage is raised it cannot be lowered.

I wouldn't mind high pay so much provided that the guards position was phased out and the network went towards DOO.

Having to spend $200 000 before the train moves seems quite expensive. Just my opinion though.

[verbatim9]

Just questioning the comparison of Train Driver wages Internationally within the G20.

Wages (in theory) are set to supply / demand.

If you have an oversupply of (eligible) applicants, you are probably paying too much. If you have an undersupply of (eligible) applicants, you are probably paying too little.

So I wouldn't put much weight on "international comparisons".

There are things that complicate this picture, such as the "ratchet effect" where once a wage is raised it cannot be lowered.

I wouldn't mind high pay so much provided that the guards position was phased out and the network went towards DOO.

Having to spend $200 000 before the train moves seems quite expensive. Just my opinion though.

I agree, the network may just become sustainable if a wage freeze were put in place until a driver only operation is operational for at least 60℅ of the SEQ Electrified Train Network.

[petey3801]

Considering Sydney and NS (Dutch Railways) (as two of many examples) both have two people per train and both pay drivers around the same as QR, yet still have good service levels seems to put that theory to rest. There are many reasons why train drivers get paid the amount they do, including 24hr shiftwork, high amounts of weekend work, working public holidays, hazard pay etc.
Have a look at the amount an A380 captain is paid. QR are by no means paying train drivers above the norm for other network train drivers.

[#Metro]

Savings are savings.

THE state-of-the-art trains set to replace Sydney's ageing fleet may operate with no staff other than its driver

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/no-room-for-train-guards-in-driveronly-view-of-sydney-trains-future/news-story/4b357bc6feff1450679ce8b8fee98ad2

[verbatim9]

Considering Sydney and NS (Dutch Railways) (as two of many examples) both have two people per train and both pay drivers around the same as QR, yet still have good service levels seems to put that theory to rest. There are many reasons why train drivers get paid the amount they do, including 24hr shiftwork, high amounts of weekend work, working public holidays, hazard pay etc.
Have a look at the amount an A380 captain is paid. QR are by no means paying train drivers above the norm for other network train drivers.

But the Dutch Train system run to a sustainable timetable (greater intervals) over a reasonable distance. Within their cities they run light rail Metro and buses at high frequency which are all driver only that are paid substantially less than a train driver. The point I am making is QR runs their network like a pseudo Metro. Yet don't have the benefit of cost like a metro. QR have succumb to unsustainable union demands which have led to unproductive enterprise bargaining agreements translating to service delivery at a very high cost to the tax payer. Unfortunately the current Labor party have agreed to what has occurred but put the brakes on at the very last moment, which is now a bit too late to fix things up except for just the recruitment side. The only way forward now is Driver Only Operation. Inevitable!

[petey3801]

Unfortunately for you, you actually have no idea apart from what is written in the papers, which is generally bulls#it that has been taken out of context. I'm not talking about Metro services, i'm talking about heavy rail services. NS heavy rail drivers get paid roughly the same as QR heavy rail services who get paid roughly the same as Sydney Trains heavy rail services who get paid roughly the same as many other heavy rail services around the world. Considering QR runs across SEQ, it is hardly a pseudo metro outside the inner city area, just like most other similar setup networks.

Also, that JetBlue pilot salary would also be in USD considering it is an American airline. Using current conversion rates, AU$100,000 equates to roughly US$76,500, significantly lower than your pilot comparison.

[verbatim9]

Savings are savings.

THE state-of-the-art trains set to replace Sydney's ageing fleet may operate with no staff other than its driver

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/no-room-for-train-guards-in-driveronly-view-of-sydney-trains-future/news-story/4b357bc6feff1450679ce8b8fee98ad2

Great it will set example for Qld to follow suit. Pretty sure that NGR are designed to run DOO too. But Qld being 10 years behind in many facets of life compared to NSW and Vic. It may be a long time coming, but would like to be proved incorrect.

[#Metro]

I am not against high pay for QR drivers, but the current operations take a lot of money to produce 1 service and are labour intensive. Then there is the executive who have been paying themselves big bonuses as well - I will not overlook that either.

I really don't see international comparisons as relevant because it doesn't say anything about why that level is justified, it's almost like a circular argument:

Rail Operator A justifies wage $x because rail operator B is paid x$
Rail Operator B justifies wage $x because rail operator C is paid $x
Rail Operator C justifies wage $x because rail operator A is paid $x

Let's start with ATP and DOO upgrading lines on the network. Phase out guards - drivers can get a share via pay increase from the greater productivity that will result from that.

[verbatim9]

I'm not talking about Metro services, i'm talking about heavy rail services. NS heavy rail drivers get paid roughly the same as QR heavy rail services who get paid roughly the same as Sydney Trains heavy rail services who get paid roughly the same as many other heavy rail services around the world. Considering QR runs across SEQ, it is hardly a pseudo metro outside the inner city area, just like most other similar setup networks.

Also, that JetBlue pilot salary would also be in USD considering it is an American airline. Using current conversion rates, AU$100,000 equates to roughly US$76,500, significantly lower than your pilot comparison.

QR are basically forced to run trains almost at Metro frequency within Bne municipality peak times except for the Gold coast, and Sunshine coast line. I haven't observed outside Australia anything similar. It's unsustainable model and more people would be vocal about it too if they were proactive. Syd trains are double decker hence have been cost effective with full peak trains subsidising off peak runs. NSW government have seen the light with going forward with a driverless Metro and DOO trains.

That was only one quick example with Jet blue. I am sure that there are other comparable examples that highlight high wage costs with in QR incl drivers.

[James]

QR are basically forced to run trains almost at Metro frequency within Bne municipality peak times except for the Gold coast, and Sunshine coast line. I haven't observed outside Australia anything similar. It's unsustainable model and more people would be vocal about it too if they were proactive. Syd trains are double decker hence have been cost effective with full peak trains subsidising off peak runs. NSW government have seen the light with going forward with a driverless Metro and DOO trains.

That was only one quick example with Jet blue. I am sure that there are other comparable examples that highlight high wage costs with in QR incl drivers.

"Forced to run trains at almost metro frequency"

That only really happens during parts of the AM peak on the Ferny Grove & Springfield line. Metro frequency is trains at least every 5 minutes in the peaks consistently. Only Park Road - Bowen Hills gets that. If you want to see a proper metro, look at Vancouver, Paris or London. Also - DOO isn't going to happen. You just have to look at stations like Goodna, where the width of the platform does not allow for DOO westbound as wheelchairs can't get around the lift shaft (oh the irony). That's just one example. Similar issue at Dinmore - platform is too narrow.

Instead of whining about labour costs, do something about productivity and internal recruitment policies. Guards are here to stay, drivers definitely won't be going anywhere. You need full grade separation and a dedicated ROW (not one shared with freight) for that. Doomben line metro?

The real cost in the public service isn't the front line staff, it is the management and associated fluff. Unions have a case to answer, but they are not the bogeyman.

[#Metro]

Isn't productivity output per unit input?

And therefore removing guards though DOO phase in a large increase in productivity?

I don't see how someone can make a blanket statement that guards are here forever.

Yes there are issues at some locations, but staged introduction seems DOOable.

If you are putting more staff into PT, you wouldn't prioritise train guards
http://www.danielbowen.com/2013/02/04/train-guards/

Prior to the 1990s, suburban trains had two staff members: a driver and a guard. The purpose of the driver is obvious. The guard... less so.

...

In 1994-95, train guards were removed, replaced by "Driver Only Operation": changes to the trains to let the drivers unlock and lock the doors, mirrors and CCTV on stations to let them see the length of the train. Later upgrades included warning lights to tell the driver if any doors haven't closed. Drivers are also responsible for deploying ramps (now lightweight, and stored inside the trains) for wheelchairs.

The removal of guards meant that the cost of adding additional train services fell markedly, particularly on weekends when penalty rates apply.

Sunday services have seen the biggest improvement: prior to 1996 all lines ran only every 40 minutes.

In February 1996 the busiest lines, through Caulfield and Camberwell, were upgraded to every 30 minutes until about 7pm*, followed by the Glen Waverley line the following year. In mid-1999 all lines went to every 20 minutes between about 11am and 7pm (matching Saturday frequencies). In 2012 the Ringwood, Dandenong and Frankston lines went to every 10 minutes between about 10am and 7pm (on both Saturdays and Sundays).

[verbatim9]

Qld Gov needs to think outside the Sq.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Several Queensland Rail managers facing disciplinary action following Strachan Inquiry report

SEVERAL senior Queensland Rail managers are facing disciplinary action in the wake of the scathing review into the timetable crisis.

A QR spokeswoman said: "In line with the recommendations in the Strachan Inquiry relating to assessing the capabilities and addressing any identified inadequacies of the executive and senior leadership teams, Queensland Rail is currently undertaking a disciplinary process with several employees," she said.

"We will continue to carefully scrutinise staffing arrangements."

The Commission report laid the blame for the fiasco at the feet of QR management and recommended assessing "the capabilities" of the senior management team.

he Courier-Mail understands one of the people currently under disciplinary action is Shannon Iwanow, who was mentioned in the Commission report in her role as General Manager Citytrain.

The QR spokeswoman refused to answer questions about Ms Iwanow but confirmed someone else was acting in the role

Ms Iwanow commissioned the Indec report which warned there would be a significant risk to train services – particularly after the Redcliffe Peninsula Line became operational – because of a driver shortage but she did not circulate the findings.

It's understood she has been given a show cause notice.

The latest disciplinary actions against the rail operator's management staff come after the resignations of chief executive Helen Gluer and board chairman Michael Klug last October, and chief operating officer Kevin Wright just days after the Christmas service cancellations which created chaos.

Acting Transport Minister Jackie Trad said reforming QR's management culture was a key focus for the Government.

"The Strachan inquiry report clearly demonstrated cultural issues were a major contributor to service cancellations late last year," she said.

"We want to ensure we get the right leadership in place to reform Queensland Rail and improve service delivery."

But Opposition Transport spokesman Andrew Powell said the State Government was ultimately responsible for the rail fail.

"QR management issues are one thing but the buck stops with the shareholding ministers," he said.

[ozbob]

^

Time the @QueenslandRail Board de-trained too!#qldpol https://t.co/vH3507vuRk

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) February 9, 2017

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

10th February 2017

RAIL Back on Track 8 Point Recovery Plan

Good Morning,

As I outlined on ABC Radio Brisbane (Mornings with Steve Austin) on the 8 February 2017 [ http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/mornings/mornings/8233748 ] it is essential that Queensland Rail deliver a full service timetable by January 2018.  If they cannot do that consideration needs to be given to getting a rail operator that will!  The public of SEQ has had enough of this shambles.  Simply telling the public that there is no fix for two years, and there might be even more service reductions is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

In the interview I outline a number of strategies that would allow full service delivery by January 2018.  First priority must be to fill the service gaps at present and get a consistent Monday to Friday timetable.  This is an utter shambles.  Queensland Rail has put back any notion of network reform years and have sabotaged years of effort to get a fair fare structure for SEQ.  Pleased to note disciplinary action has started with some of the failed management of Queensland Rail. [ Couriermail --> Several Queensland Rail managers facing disciplinary action following Strachan Inquiry report ].

Why stop there?  The Queensland Rail Board should de-train as well, a superfluous ineffective layer of incompetence in our opinion.

Appoint Mr Strachan as Rail Commissioner, streamline the bumbling management in Queensland Rail and set about delivering a full service timetable by January 2018.

Nothing else will do.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

8th February 2017

RAIL Back on Track 8 Point Recovery Plan

Greetings,

RAIL Back on Track wishes to comment on the Strachan Inquiry Report and proposes the following recovery plan.  It is essential that Queensland Rail return to a full timetable not later than January 2018.  If Queensland Rail is not able to achieve that deadline consideration should be given to replacing Queensland Rail with an operator that will.

1. New ministers - a single minister and one assistant minister to be given the sole responsibility of the transport portfolio. This will guarantee single focus, and an experienced successor for the minister.

2. Public Transport Authority of Queensland (PTQ) set up - a statutory authority based on the Western Australian model. Get someone like Western Australia's ex-Transport Minister Alannah MacTiernan to head it. Remove Public Transport from Main Roads, merge TransLink and the Cross River Rail Authority into PTQ.

3. Rail services on the Redcliffe Peninsula Line (RPL) should be shuttle services during the off peak with some through peak services. This was the approach that was used by Queensland Rail when the then Richlands branch line opened in January 2011.  A full timetable was only implemented in June 2011, as part of the wider sector one changes. The Queensland Rail rail network ran to timetable before the RPL opened, in fact was touted as the best ontime running in the nation!

Waiting two years to get back to timetable is completely unacceptable and we reject it in the strongest terms. The suggestion that 'there are no quick fixes' is unsubstantiated and we question why RPL line shuttles have not been considered whilst more crew are trained.

4. Abolish "internal favouritism" hiring provisions as soon as possible. Such practices create extra recruitment costs for Queensland Rail and appear to favour men over women (due to guard demographics) in train crew roles.

5. Get driver training down to 9 months, like other operators.

6. Empower the new PTQ Authority to enforce its contracts through fines and contract termination. The current setup is a monopoly - both public and private - and that is overriding all other aspects of service quality and delivery as operators cannot be fired no matter what. Without choice of operator, there can be no meaningful enforcement.

7. The Queensland Rail board and Queensland Rail executive leadership team should be fired. Do not replace the board - Mr Strachan can be a single commissioner for railways under PTQ like Sydney Trains.

8. Tackle Brisbane City Council - there is a parallel mess happening with the Brisbane Bus Network which has been left to fester since 2013. Get buses running to trains and fix the bus network so that it connects with rail. We have shown how to do it here --> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Best wishes
Robert

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

[ Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12341.msg187649#msg187649 ]

[ozbob]

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad will take on the Transport portfolio as part of a Cabinet reshuffle https://t.co/hKSPogFLdt pic.twitter.com/B546oatnLX

— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) February 9, 2017

[ozbob]

New transport minister pic.twitter.com/91NJIIHGTv

— Patrick Condren (@PatrickCondren) February 9, 2017