Queensland Rail

[verbatim9]

That whole inquiry is like having a review without a review! i.e. No or minimal results.

[#Metro]

Reviews don't hire, fire, penalise or sue.

I actually support increased regulatory powers for the gov't.

Can't or won't perform? Goodbye 👋

And those are the executive powers that Translink needs to fix this mess.

[verbatim9]

^^I hope it comes into fruition

[ozbob]

Nothing recent still at the ' Citytrain Response Unit ' .... https://www.cru.qld.gov.au/reports.html

Tomorrow could be the big day hey?

Meanwhile, another ditty to enjoy! 

[ozbob]

 

Ha ha ... the DP has just announced in estimates the June CRU ' Fixing the trains ' report ...   

Fixing the Trains – June Quarter 2017 (PDF, 2,215 KB)

[BrizCommuter]

I'll write a review of this belated document hopefully tonight. Looks like there will be more weekend and holiday service cuts. No sign of axed services being returned. BS on QR being more customer focussed. Not much about the Comm Games.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland Rail trains 28 out of required 200 new train drivers

Queensland Rail has trained 28 of the 200 new train drivers it needs to restore reliability to the beleaguered operator.

But Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad announced in budget estimates that external recruitment would open next month for drivers without prior QR experience.

The Citytrain Response Unit's latest report reveals 28 drivers had been trained and 107 selected out of a target of 200.

Seventy-seven guards had been trained and 263 selected, out of a target of 200.
Jackie Trad says external recruitment for QR drivers will begin next month.

QR is expected to have completed recruitment by 2018, training for drivers by 2019 and guards' training by 2018.

The issues at QR, including a shortage of staff, an over-reliance on overtime and culture issues, came to light following hundreds of service cancellations, with an inquiry led by Phillip Strachan making 36 recommendations to fix the problems.

Setting up the Citytrain Response Unit was one of the recommendations. Another was opening up recruitment externally to people with no prior experience.

QR previously called for applications for new train drivers, with a requirement that they had worked as a QR driver in the past.

The Citytrain Response Unit's Fixing the trains report, released on Wednesday, said the process for opening external recruitment to drivers with no previous QR experience was "ongoing".

Ms Trad said opening recruitment to all applicants was the final step in securing 200 trainee drivers.

"Queensland Rail has been focused on recruiting trainees with prior rail experience, to speed up training and get more drivers onto the network sooner, which is the key to increasing future service levels," she said.

She said targeting internal employees and former QR drivers resulted in shorter training time frames.

Out of the 36 recommendations, seven have been completed, one is in planning, 26 are in progress and two are partially complete.

Ms Trad said tangible progress was being made to get QR back on track.

"Customers will see this around the network in the form of stabilised reliability, improved station amenity and more proactive customer engagement," she wrote in the report.

QR has conducted stress testing on the timetable and advised it could remain in place.

"This is a good outcome, as it means that customers can be assured that their services will continue to be operated," Ms Trad said.

"However, the Queensland government acknowledges there will be a number of defined periods over the coming 12 months when isolated changes to the timetable may be required to ensure the availability of train crew and reliability of services."

The report said QR had developed a model to forecast long-term train crew availability and service requirements to better predict timetable stress points over a rolling five-year period.

QR had also developed an eight-week train crew management plan.

[ozbob]

I'll write a review of this belated document hopefully tonight. Looks like there will be more weekend and holiday service cuts. No sign of axed services being returned. BS on QR being more customer focussed. Not much about the Comm Games.

Thanks. It is a very sad situation.  The NGR failure is only go to make it much worse.

[BrizCommuter]

In fact, I can't see any information on timetable recovery timelines. Quite a glaring omission!

[ozbob]

19th July 2017

Media Release
Deputy Premier, Minister for Transport and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Jackie Trad

Driver applications open to all

Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport Jackie Trad has today announced that recruitment for Queensland Rail train drivers would be opened to all job seekers next month.

Ms Trad said opening up recruitment to all applicants was the final step in securing 200 trainee drivers and delivering a surplus of drivers for the future.

"Queensland Rail has been focused on recruiting trainees with prior rail experience, to speed up training and get more drivers onto the network sooner, which is the key to increasing future service levels," Ms Trad said.

"Targeting internal employees and former Queensland Rail drivers in the first stage of recruitment has resulted in shorter training timeframes.

"There are more drivers training on the Queensland Rail network than ever before and several other initiatives have fast-tracked the process, such as the appointment of more than 80 experienced drivers in mentor roles, to provide extra on-track training support.

"The appointment of mentors has provided greater capacity for on-track training and has freed up driver trainers, who provide initial classroom training of new trainees.

"With these training improvements, Queensland Rail is now ready to open up recruitment to all job seekers in the external market next month.

"Queensland Rail has already recruited more than 100 of the 200 available trainee driver positions, with driver schools at capacity for the remainder of 2017.

"Opening applications to the wider public means new and exciting employment opportunities for Queenslanders.

"It will bolster the current supply of drivers and ensure a steady stream of high quality recruits, which will eventually allow us to increase services to the timetable."

Today, Ms Trad also released the Citytrain Response Unit's quarterly report on Queensland Rail's Fixing the trains progress.

"We have made tangible progress and Queensland Rail have been drastically reducing cancellations by 70% and transforming how we deliver rail services for Queensland," Ms Trad said.

"Customers will see this around the network – with more reliable services, improved stations and more focus on the customer.

"My primary focus has been and will remain on ensuring Queenslanders have access to reliable rail services."

ENDS

[#Metro]

Fixing the Trains – June Quarter 2017 (PDF, 2,215 KB)

I thought CRU was an independent agency.

Page 2 has a giant splash photo and statement from Jackie Trad.

Transport Minister Jackie Trad appears to be acting in three capacities at once.

She is Queensland Rail who then contracts to TransLink. In other words, Jackie Trad is the supplier AND regulator simultaneously.

Now, it seems that Jackie Trad is also the 'independent reviewer' of her own contract from herself to herself as well?

1. Queensland Rail has committed to driving cultural change
within its business with the recent appointment of an
Executive General Manager for People and Culture

So, most of the board and management are retained, but there is now a new appointment for 'People and Culture'.

Why not just remove the people at management??

3. The Citytrain Response Unit has undertaken a whole-of-
business review of Queensland Rail to identify any areas
that require attention beyond the scope of the Strachan
Inquiry recommendations

Deutsche Bahn Engineering and Consulting was engaged
to assist in the first phase of the review which comprised
more than 70 interviews, 4 site visits and review of more
than 250 documents. This first phase of the review will
be finalised next quarter.

So they paid German train operator Deutsche Bahn to do a review --- why not just hand the entire QR contract to someone like Deutsche Bahn and get that type of management?

4. The Citytrain Response Unit commenced the Integrated
Public Transport Model Review to recommend a new,
world-class public transport model for Queensland.

The Queensland Government understands that Queenslanders
want innovative transport solutions, seamless connectivity and
customer-oriented decision-making. The review will consider
successful models from around the world to understand how
lessons learned could be applied in the Queensland context.
The first stage of the review will be completed later this year
and will identify the best model to meet the needs of current
and future customers.

Is this going to be opened to public consultation?

The graphs on page 10 are misleading - because the timetable was changed, the drop in services (which should register as a cancellation) have been silenced IMHO. When a timetable is changed, the goalposts are moved / standard is lowered, which is why the stats look so good.

I have previously described a hypothetical scenario where the entire timetable is cancelled bar one service which runs on time - such a service would give 100% on time and 100% availability statistic despite the almost total removal of services for people.

[Stillwater]

Oh gawd, there we go with the 'world class model' stuff again .... why can't we just have a good and efficient service?   There are a few stages between rock bottom and world class .. Queensland always attempts to do it in one go, and fails miserably every time.

[Stillwater]

It's all promise of better times in future –

Jackie Trad's forward: "I am confident that the people for Queensland will start to see a true transformation in the way we deliver rail services."  The STARTING POINT is some time away, in the future.  So, we have yet to reach the starting point.

An optimistic view is that the government IS IN THE PROCESS of stabilising operations.  The point of stabilisation has not yet been reached.

CRU claims that the rate at which cancellation of services occurs is declining.  That is not stabilisation.
QR has undertaken 'detailed analysis'.  That is a task, it is NOT AN ACHIEVEMENT unless the findings arising from the analysis are put into action. Doing stuff is not a sign of success.
 
QR has COMMENCED an overhaul of recruitment and training.  It has started to do stuff at the commencement – the point before start.

Communications has improved?  Really?  So people know well in advance that their train will be delayed or cancelled?

CRU has established an assurance program, which confirms that the very poor timetable can be sustained.  So the assurance program results in a continuation of the pain.  It is yet to diagnose pain relief.  Pain relief is yet to occur.

QR has COMMITTED TO DRIVING CULTURAL CHANGE.  More of the aspirational management.  I am committed to losing weight, I have not lost weight.  Nothing has happened.  Nothing has come of the QR commitment.

So what of the Detutsche-Bahn Engineering consultancy? They had a chinwag with the few people. We are not told what came of this activity, so not much must have come from it.

Again, we are at the 'beginning' stage – the stage before start.  This planning is an embryo.

Wow, something HAS happened.  Twenty-four bins have been placed on station platforms.  Big tick for a positive outcome.

QR has had 'catch-ups' only to be told what is being expressed on social media.  They could not have had the 'catch ups' and just kept the social media posts and consulted those.  The action here? ... the posts were deleted.  There are few negative pieces of feedback, QR kids itself.

Oh look (page 8 ) we have a new bureaucracy – a QR Response and Recovery Program Management Office ... in addition to the CRU, which palms off its responsibilities to a private consultancy.  What does the QRRRPMO do?

QR has revised some processes.  Has service levels and efficiencies happened.  We don't get a report on that?
All the rest of the report relates to colour and movement.

There are no objectives like:
restoring timetable by early 2018 (are we 20 per cent of the way, or 50 per cent of the way there?)  No objective, so no reporting against an objective like that.
Any objective along the lines ofr when NRG trains will go into service.  Nope.
Any plans for ensuring sufficient trains are in service for Commonwealth games – just a promise that you will be able to catch a train to the Games.  Nothing about commensurate reduction in services on lines other than the GC line.

We are none the wiser as a consequence of the CRU quarterly report.

[#Metro]

Money talks. When a big fine is taken out of the kitty, it won't matter so much what blah is written in the report.

Same with contract termination.

What worries me is that it seems more "adjustments" (read cuts, probably on weekends) are likely necessary for periods like Xmas and April.

[ozbob]

The Member for Bundamba asked a question in Transport Estimates as to the cost of CRU and for duty statements etc.

There were some answers as to costs and the rest I think it was taken on notice from memory.

Good question that from Mrs Miller ... 

[ozbob]

^ from Estimates thread ..

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2017/2017_07_19_EstimatesIPC.pdf

Page 47

Mrs MILLER: I have a follow-up question in relation to the Citytrain Response Unit to the
director-general, Mr Scales. Can you please advise how much the Citytrain Response Unit is costing?

Can you provide the committee with an organisational chart of this unit?

Mr Scales: It has been established, as the Deputy Premier says, as an independent unit
reporting directly to the Deputy Premier. It has a core team of five full-time staff. The chair is part-time,
Ms Jacqui Walters. The Citytrain Response Unit operated with a budget of $3.517 million in 2016-17,
and a further $3.704 million is allocated for 2017-18. In line with the Strachan inquiry recommendation
No. 35, the CRU members report on the implementation of Queensland Rail's response and recovery
plan and the agreed recommendations. To the point, they are the numbers. On an organisational chart
there are only really five full-time staff.

Mrs MILLER: Can you give us the positions and their duty statements, please, as well as the
organisational chart? Can you take that on notice?

Mr Scales: I think so, if the DP says so.

[Stillwater]

$7.2m dollars ... two quarterly reports ... five staff

[BrizCommuter]

The BrizCommuter word on the June edition of Fixing The Trains:
https://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/fixing-trains-but-when.html

I'll quote this rather important bit at the end of the blog post:
Timetable recovery - absolutely no information has been provided on the expected recovery of the full October 2016 timetable, and improvements thereafter. This is the absolutely number one piece of information that the public want to know. The omission of this data, shows that either the CRU are out of touch with commuters, or that the news is so "politically unsavoury" that it is being hidden, or that there is no intention of recovering the full timetable. Would the CRU (or QR) like to tell the customers when the full October 2016 timetable will be restored?

[ozbob]

Thanks!    Sent to all outlets &

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/887704156793782276

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/887717521511530496

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/887724171710439424

[HappyTrainGuy]

The psychometric testing procedures changed when they dug deeper into the Banyo level crossing accident surrounding how the train driver at the station failed to communicate to control that a truck was stuck on the level crossing/the train driver that hit the truck not seeing it/the failures in the station attendant reporting over the PSA network.

^^ Great explanation, thanks for the info HTG.

Thought I quoted and replied earlier but I didn't. From memory it was a 3rd party mob that did the investigation and made recommendations that QR adopted.

[Stillwater]

CRU is a five-person team answerable directly to the Minister.  It would appear to be her own little PR unit to spread the whitewash over the RailFail mess.

[ozbob]

CRU is a five-person team answerable directly to the Minister.  It would appear to be her own little PR unit to spread the whitewash over the RailFail mess.

Seems so!  I don't think it is working out too well ... lol  Just my humble opinion .. 

[#Metro]

CRU is a five-person team answerable directly to the Minister.  It would appear to be her own little PR unit to spread the whitewash over the RailFail mess.

Of course. What were people expecting?

The CRU does not have executive powers (hire, fire, fine, sue). These are powers TransLink should have anyway.

CRU is a distraction - everything that it reports on we can already read in The Courier Mail.

Don't renew QR's contract!

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Union threatens industrial action over external recruitment for train drivers and guards

THE powerful rail union is threatening industrial action against the State Government over its announcement that ­ordinary Queenslanders will be recruited for train driver and guard positions, from next month, to fill shortages.

In what could spark a revolt within Queensland Rail, the Rail Tram and Bus Union has complained that neither QR nor the Government could override provisions in their enterprise agreement that meant internal candidates must be the first to be recruited.

"Let me make it clear, ­neither the QR CEO, the QR chairman of the board or the Transport Minister can override the provisions of the ­federal enterprise agreement, which provides for guards and then other employees, such as station staff, being provided with the opportunity for selection for driver positions before external employees," RTBU state secretary Owen Doogan wrote in a letter to members. "If QR seeks to broaden their interpretation of the agreement in a way which disadvantages our members, the union will use the dispute ­settling procedure to protect members' positions."

The result of the provision has meant drivers were internally recruited only, and has come under fire as being partly responsible for a dire train crew shortage that led to City-train timetable chaos last year.

Full external recruitment was a key recommendation of the Strachan review.

Mr Doogan, who did not ­return calls from The Courier-Mail, accused QR boss Nick Easy of being "determined to attack the progression opportunities of his loyal workforce which is far from what they ­deserve given the enormous ­efforts they have put in to keep the trains on the track during the recent mess management and politicians created".

The broadside came after Transport Minister Jackie Trad announced on Wednesday that external recruitment would soon begin. She yesterday confirmed it would go ahead for drivers and guards.

Mr Easy said QR was ­"focused on recruiting a pipeline of new train crew to increase services for our customers now and into the future".

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Editorial: Railroading closed-shop jobs signals time for union overhaul

YOU would think that in an era of falling trade union membership and modernised workplace laws that union organisers would be seeking to evolve and make themselves more relevant.

Some, however, seem more determined to defy changing economic and workplace conditions, instead modelling themselves more on the Luddites of the early 19th century who actively sabotaged the machinery of the emerging industrial era.

A case in point is the Rail Tram and Bus Union in Queensland, which right now is taking a positively antediluvian approach to industrial relations. Instead of shifting with the times and recognising that its representations on behalf of workers must reflect the reality of the 21st century, it seems hell bent on driving itself to irrelevancy.

The RTBU's threat to launch industrial action against the Palaszczuk Government's perfectly reasonable desire to have a train system that actually has the skilled staff necessary to operate a full service would indicate the union leadership has lost all touch. Even under a union-friendly Labor government, Queensland is not a jurisdiction that will tolerate outmoded closed-shop agreements that serve only to reduce service standards and efficiency.

For more than six months, southeast Queensland commuters have endured reduced services, crowding and delays because of abject mismanagement failure on behalf of Queensland Rail. That QR executives did not plan ahead for enough drivers to cope with an expanded network is not the fault of the RTBU's frontline members – many of whom have been working extended shifts to try to make up the shortfall.

That the new management at QR and the Government are being held to ransom by the union for trying to fix the problem, however, is nothing short of unconscionable.

At issue is the ability of QR to recruit train drivers outside the existing QR workforce, with the union arguing that no-one can "override the provisions of the federal enterprise agreement which provides for guards and then other employees, such as station staff, being provided the opportunity for selection for driver positions before external employees".

No one is trying to override that opportunity. What they are trying to do is make up a chronic shortfall of drivers that is not going to be fixed in the near term by rejecting experienced drivers from other companies coming in to help fill the gap.

External recruitment of drivers was one of the key recommendations of the Strachan review into the QR debacle and should be a no-brainer rather than a flash point for industrial action.

It would be hoped that Transport Minister Jackie Trad sticks to her guns on the external recruitment drive and stares down the RTBU over its sheltered workshop mentality.

A sensible editorial from the CM ... 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888442253093384192

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888443120001572864

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888444370311012354

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888444864739778560

[#Metro]

Is this for real? Just privatise it already!

Not opening up external hiring to everyone on an equal and fair basis will only entrench the "bad culture" Jackie Trad speaks of.

Curtains --->

[ozbob]

^ great performance!   

[SurfRail]

I will keep saying it until I'm blue in the face - the RTBU is not a friend of commuters.  Bunch of prima donnas.

Stick to legitimate work safety and pay issues, and stop with the micro-management bullsh%t.

[red dragin]

Time to lay the boot into the RTBU.

No logic can prove that a cleaner will automatically be a better driver than a member of the general public, just because the already work for the company.

[BrizCommuter]

Surely the RTBU are not that stupid?  Oh well, this is Queensland!

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Opinion: QR fails to deliver reliable service or vision for city's future

THE recent series of "rail fails" could not have had more of an impact if they had been co-ordinated strategic strikes against southeast Queensland.

Queensland Rail seems to suit itself rather than serve the community – a great place to work if only people don't want to always use trains.

There are a few things fundamentally wrong. For starters, QR work practices and rail routes haven't changed much in a century.

New management comes and goes, but those who are long intimate with this cumbersome organisation believe traditional and entrenched excessive union influence within Queensland Rail has achieved a perfect trifecta of having customers, staff and owners all offside. QR preserves feather-bedded work practices, putting staff pay packets ahead of passenger needs.

"Planned maintenance" regularly shuts rail lines when there are big community events on. Passengers are shuffled onto buses whenever "planned overtime" work is on.

Passenger convenience is too often a service standard QR fails to meet.

Political masters, both Labor and Liberal/National, are culpable. In government, both sides avoid reform. Despite a dubious business case, QR arrogantly expects billions of dollars to be spent on an ad hoc cross-river boondoggle connecting two poor rail systems either side of Brisbane's central business district.

A better plan would be building new rail corridors such as Ipswich via Springfield, and Beenleigh to Cleveland.

Since 1880, Ipswich residents going to the Gold Coast via rail change trains in the CBD, while Cleveland south to the Gold Coast involves backtracking north to a near CBD transit. Besides, QR cannot even adequately maintain their filthy, graffiti-riddled suburban rail corridors. They are far from being well-manicured community assets.

With no modern plan, QR fails to understand coming to the city to change trains and filthy rail corridors are not what people expect in the 21st century.

This will all be exposed at next year's Commonwealth Games.

This lack of modern thinking means Queensland Rail also deserves much of the blame for growing road traffic delays in and around Brisbane and in growth areas such as Toowoomba, the Brisbane Valley, Logan, Beaudesert, and the Gold and Sunshine coasts. New areas also deserve mass transport.

New railway routes could be funded by better use of current resources.

Logan City has a projected 20-year population growth of 37 per cent. It needs railway connections from the existing Beenleigh line to growth areas including Jimboomba, Greenbank and Yarrabilba.

New railway routes could be funded by better use of current resources and selling use of the airspace above existing rail corridors.

Suburbs currently severed by rail could unite around shopping centres and unit developments above railway stations.

An investment in coherent rail network plans recognising where people live and where they will be in the future is vital to get Queenslanders onto reliable trains and off our choking roads.

Gary Hardgrave was federal MP for Moreton from 1996-2007. He was a federal minister from 2001-07 and a member of the House Committee on Transport which completed a national review of rail in the 1990s. He is now a presenter with radio station 4BC Brisbane.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

23rd July 2017

Mr Gary Hardgrave nails root causes of #railfail

Good Morning,

Well written opinion piece by Mr Gary Hardgrave in today's Sunday Mail, on-line Opinion: QR fails to deliver reliable service or vision for city's future [ http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-qr-fails-to-deliver-reliable-service-or-vision-for-citys-future/news-story/be638d1bdcffb40be7d0e1684113cef4 ] Copy below.

Mr Hardgrave echoes many of the concerns we have constantly raised for many years now.

Queensland Rail is trapped in yesterday's paradigm, partly the result of failed political processes and union straight-jackets, and partly a flawed internal culture.

Suggestions to look outside the culture of ' rail-fail acceptance ' and look at innovative timetables to maintain service frequency albeit with transfers are simply dismissed. [ See Discussion - better ways of maintaining service with less trains/crew for an example of innovative timetabling ]

There is no better confirmation of the " suit itself rather than serve the community ... "  approach by Queensland Rail than the so called ' school holiday timetables ' with much reduced service with only one hour service frequency most lines (2 hour Sunshine Coast Line) AND they move from standard clockface times smashing bus/rail connections.  This is a double whammy for the travelling public.  Hopeless sign of the failure and the self-centred focus within Queensland Rail, they have lost sight of the fact the public transport network is meant to be integrated.  Timetables are not for their convenience, timetables are meant to deliver the best service for the community.

We cannot continue on the present path of rail fail.  A full service timetable MUST be delivered by January 2018.  As Mr Hardgrave points out " ... This will all be exposed at next year's Commonwealth Games. .. " = Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 rail fail, exactly what we have been warning about for a while now.

When you couple rail fail with the botched New Generation Rollingstock (a.k.a. Not Going Right) trains project we are in a real crisis. Mechanical issues with the aging train fleet cause constant cancellations and delays ( see https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1862.msg195094#msg195094 ). Further confirmation of the crisis is the botched signalling and poor track design on the Redcliffe Peninsula Line (still problematical by the way).

Thank you Mr Hardgrave for pointing out the significant issues with Queensland Rail  ( yet again ). Anyone listening?

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Reference:

Couriermail --> Opinion: QR fails to deliver reliable service or vision for city's future

   

THE recent series of "rail fails" could not have had more of an impact if they had been co-ordinated strategic strikes against southeast Queensland.

    Queensland Rail seems to suit itself rather than serve the community – a great place to work if only people don't want to always use trains.

    There are a few things fundamentally wrong. For starters, QR work practices and rail routes haven't changed much in a century.

    New management comes and goes, but those who are long intimate with this cumbersome organisation believe traditional and entrenched excessive union influence within Queensland Rail has achieved a perfect trifecta of having customers, staff and owners all offside. QR preserves feather-bedded work practices, putting staff pay packets ahead of passenger needs.

    "Planned maintenance" regularly shuts rail lines when there are big community events on. Passengers are shuffled onto buses whenever "planned overtime" work is on.

    Passenger convenience is too often a service standard QR fails to meet.

    Political masters, both Labor and Liberal/National, are culpable. In government, both sides avoid reform. Despite a dubious business case, QR arrogantly expects billions of dollars to be spent on an ad hoc cross-river boondoggle connecting two poor rail systems either side of Brisbane's central business district.

    A better plan would be building new rail corridors such as Ipswich via Springfield, and Beenleigh to Cleveland.

    Since 1880, Ipswich residents going to the Gold Coast via rail change trains in the CBD, while Cleveland south to the Gold Coast involves backtracking north to a near CBD transit. Besides, QR cannot even adequately maintain their filthy, graffiti-riddled suburban rail corridors. They are far from being well-manicured community assets.

    With no modern plan, QR fails to understand coming to the city to change trains and filthy rail corridors are not what people expect in the 21st century.

    This will all be exposed at next year's Commonwealth Games.

    This lack of modern thinking means Queensland Rail also deserves much of the blame for growing road traffic delays in and around Brisbane and in growth areas such as Toowoomba, the Brisbane Valley, Logan, Beaudesert, and the Gold and Sunshine coasts. New areas also deserve mass transport.

    New railway routes could be funded by better use of current resources.

    Logan City has a projected 20-year population growth of 37 per cent. It needs railway connections from the existing Beenleigh line to growth areas including Jimboomba, Greenbank and Yarrabilba.

    New railway routes could be funded by better use of current resources and selling use of the airspace above existing rail corridors.

    Suburbs currently severed by rail could unite around shopping centres and unit developments above railway stations.

    An investment in coherent rail network plans recognising where people live and where they will be in the future is vital to get Queenslanders onto reliable trains and off our choking roads.

    Gary Hardgrave was federal MP for Moreton from 1996-2007. He was a federal minister from 2001-07 and a member of the House Committee on Transport which completed a national review of rail in the 1990s. He is now a presenter with radio station 4BC Brisbane.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888812566029271040

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888812970351841281

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888818934865993728

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/888822788210925568

[ozbob]

Surely the RTBU are not that stupid?  Oh well, this is Queensland!

Seems so hey?   

[Stillwater]

The issue seems to be around crewing, which is where much of the problem lies currently, but there is a lot more that could be done in terms of restructuring QR (even putting aside the desirability of a Queensland Public Transport Commission Authority).  This outfit needs 'future proofing', otherwise the issues will just keep compounding.  Part of the reticence to plan lies in budgeting.  Maybe it is time for Qld Govt to guarantee QR funding (not just for infrastructure) for five years or so.  The feds do this with the ABC -- gets good outcomes and forward planning happening.

[ozbob]

Apart from the ' fantasy ' rail lines Hardgrave is deadly accurate on the root causes of rail fail.

THE recent series of "rail fails" could not have had more of an impact if they had been co-ordinated strategic strikes against southeast Queensland.

Spot on !

Queensland Rail seems to suit itself rather than serve the community – a great place to work if only people don't want to always use trains.

Interesting observation, timetables for rail only with no regard for anything much else.  Correct!

New management comes and goes, but those who are long intimate with this cumbersome organisation believe traditional and entrenched excessive union influence within Queensland Rail has achieved a perfect trifecta of having customers, staff and owners all offside. QR preserves feather-bedded work practices, putting staff pay packets ahead of passenger needs.

Telling it like it is ...

Political masters, both Labor and Liberal/National, are culpable. In government, both sides avoid reform.

Accurate indeed.  And this from a former blue politician.

An investment in coherent rail network plans recognising where people live and where they will be in the future is vital to get Queenslanders onto reliable trains and off our choking roads.

True.  Even if some of the lines he suggests might not be viable.  The sentiment is right.

The other sad thing is due to the secrecy of the present Government and their reluctance for full transparency (that is publish the business case for CRR ) there is a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) around re CRR, being fueled by LNP types.   This is reflected in his comments:

Despite a dubious business case, QR arrogantly expects billions of dollars to be spent on an ad hoc cross-river boondoggle connecting two poor rail systems either side of Brisbane's central business district.

He does not quite get what CRR is about, but it does highlight the confused message that CRR is now, after years of promises and iterations.  Whose fault is that?

Shoot the messenger or put out the correct message?

[#Metro]

The issue seems to be around crewing, which is where much of the problem lies currently, but there is a lot more that could be done in terms of restructuring QR (even putting aside the desirability of a Queensland Public Transport Commission Authority).  This outfit needs 'future proofing', otherwise the issues will just keep compounding.  Part of the reticence to plan lies in budgeting.  Maybe it is time for Qld Govt to guarantee QR funding (not just for infrastructure) for five years or so.  The feds do this with the ABC -- gets good outcomes and forward planning happening.

Queensland Rail has to be the most restructured organisation there ever was.

It doesn't need a new structure. It needs The BOOT!

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Why train services are worse when Queensland Rail claims they are better


Actual QR passenger services run week-on-week. Photo: Queensland Rail

If you listen to Queensland Rail, passenger services are improving all the time. If this is so, it makes you wonder why yet another senior QR official was sacked just two weeks ago over timetable failures.

While the QR media machine churns out announcements about how the percentage of cancellations is falling, the truth is otherwise.

As this graph, based on figures released by QR and provided to me shows, the actual number of trains scheduled fluctuated wildly between the week beginning the 17th October, 2016, and the week beginning the 8th May, 2017. The number of trains each week is shown in blue. The overall trend, shown by the line in pink, declined over this period.

In fact, the very idea of a settled passenger timetable is a joke, as is evident from the variations in the number of trains that actually ran each week.

That is why QR refuse to talk about the number of services that actually run. They prefer to talk instead about the percentage of services that are cancelled, or not cancelled.

The problem with this is that if a service runs one week, but is not run the next week because they don't have the staff, then it isn't cancelled as far as they are concerned. It is an absurd state of affairs that can only undermine passenger confidence and satisfaction even further.

This explains is why train services are worse when QR claims they are better.

As an example, consider the total number of train services from the end of March to the beginning of May. In the last week of March there were 7,813 services scheduled, but 690.6 of these services were cancelled. The number of actual train services for the week, therefore, was 7,122.4. The following week was the first full week of the school holidays. QR took over 670 trains off the tracks and scheduled 7,141 trains, but of these 125.7 were cancelled. The net number running that week was 7,015.3.

The next week was Easter, so the number of trains scheduled was reduced to 6,203 of which 45 were cancelled.

With school holidays and Easter over, you would expect the number of scheduled services to return to the previous levels. Instead, QR only scheduled 6,951 trains, and cancelled 21 of these, so that the actual number of trains run that week was 6,930. That was almost 200 fewer than before.

Absurdly, the number of trains run increased during the ANZAC Day week, only to drop again in the first week of May. At no time between October and May was the number of trains scheduled in any week the same as the number scheduled the week before.

It is clear that train schedules are being dictated by staff availability, instead of the needs of the travelling public, and that QR and the Queensland government are engaged in a grotesque distortion of the facts about train services. In fact, their misinformation campaign is so systemic and persuasive that it has reached Goebbelesque proportions.

Behind the scenes, however, the failures and sacking continue a month after proclaiming service standards were improving.

The travelling public, who stand at railway stations for trains that never come, know the truth. So do the people who work at QR, and who regularly tell me what is really going on.

Passenger services in South-East Queensland are worse than nine months ago, and nothing the government tries is making a difference.

[ozbob]

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