Queensland Rail - Timetable ' Stress Test ' and implications

[BrizCommuter]

the long suffering passengers are getting very stressed indeed!

well theres now one less avenue for them to vent their stress........looks as though review system has been completely wiped/disabled from the QR facebook page....

Yes, I noticed that all the adverse comments have gone.  Wonder how long before someone sets up ' Queensland Fail ' FB page?

Someone did a few years back, and ended up banned from QR trains after some anti social "pranks".

[ozbob]

Don't know about that, but it is all a bit strange to bury negative feedback.  Out of sight out of mind hey?



Cannot hide the fact that they are delivering the worst urban train frequency in Oz and NZ with this Sunday rail fail timetable ..

[#Metro]

^ Yes, the one-star reviews are all gone. All 650+ of them appear to have been deleted entirely.

Extend the QR contract again?

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/878797394036441090

[Cazza]

That's 5 more trains than Brisbane EVERY HOUR!

[brissypete]

There definately seems to be truth in this fb post by QR "up to no good"  meanwhile im in Berlin and the longest PT wait ive had today (Sunday) is 10 mins for a U bahn as Id just missed one.



Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[ozbob]

That's 5 more trains than Brisbane EVERY HOUR!

Indeed.  Conceptually, Dandenong is a bit like Ipswich.  Excellent demonstration of how far behind our rail network is in SEQ.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/881206882412617728

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

2nd July 2017

Re: Call for free travel on June / July school holiday train timetable

Good Morning,

Another Sunday and another reduced service rail timetable with broken bus/rail connections today ( https://translink.com.au/service-updates/132261 ).

The travelling public who rely on an adequate and functioning public transport network 7 days a week are sacrificed on the ' altar of sport and entertainment ' for essentially occasional users of public transport.

Believe me, community anger and resentment grows by the hour, the longer this rail fail mess continues.

We are so looking forward to #qldvotes ..  Mate!

Best wishes
Robert

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

[ Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=12827.msg194063#msg194063 ]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/881211965191766016

[ozbob]

This chronic under service with rail fail is terminal, fixes must be accelerated to sort.

Enough of this shambles!

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/881215150442795008

[ozbob]

Very sad this exchange, shows how deep seated the organisation's acceptance of failure is  ...

https://twitter.com/EmilyHyphenRose/status/881334747254800384

https://twitter.com/QueenslandRail/status/881336681647005696

https://twitter.com/EmilyHyphenRose/status/881338884516233216

https://twitter.com/EmilyHyphenRose/status/881339179350634496

https://twitter.com/EmilyHyphenRose/status/881339913802727424

^

https://twitter.com/QueenslandRail/status/881336681647005696

^

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/881342961086210049

[#Metro]

@QueenslandRail But please tell me more about how QR puts profits before staff and users.
12:30 PM - 2 Jul 2017

I like the way she has tried to pin the blame on QR being driven to make "profits" on the behaviour of the operator.

The situation is precisely the opposite. There are no profits. Queensland Rail doesn't make profits and has no financial incentives to deliver

good service (apart from maybe executive bonuses, which they seem to get anyway).


Queensland Rail and the State of Queensland are the same thing, as Jackie Trad is ultimately in control of QR (at least in theory).

There is no financial penalty or consequence ultimately to a timetable like this. Because there are no profits, there are no fines, there are no

losses, no threat of termination or bankruptcy - nothing but a bit of bad press. And because the State of Queensland and Queensland Rail are

one and the same, the government simply calls a press conference and gets its PR team to deliver yet another apology to passengers.


If the operator wasn't QR, I would suspect the response from the Queensland Government would be entirely different.

[ozbob]

Emily is obviously another annoyed passenger I doubt that she is a scholar of PT matters, however she is obtusely right about the profit comment.  Part of what is driving these reduced timetables is saving dollars on overtime.

Her other comments are very valid indeed.

The point I wanted to make though is the response from QR is very poor.  Not the way to handle such a complaint.

[ozbob]

Every morning they gather around the jug - the jug of red cordial.

They sup -   and chant

" We are more reliable " ( ignore the fact we deliver less service  ...)

" We meet the reduced demand with reduced service " ( the fact that we have forced passengers away we ignore ... )

" We think like a customer ... "   

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail is heavily unionised and refractory to real change.

I have no doubt there would not be a rail operator elsewhere that could not fail to rectify the ' crew shortage ' within 14 months.  Which is effectively what they will have to January 2018.  If there is a failure to deliver a full timetable by late January, it is clearly time for a new operator.  The government clearly lacks the leadership and courage to get on top of it.  The Chairman of the QR Board commented the other day that they cannot introduce sectorisation until possibly 2019 and after the next EB.

These are dramatic times.  The Government should go to the Industrial Courts and seek variations on the EB due to extenuating circumstances.  Queensland Rail is declining applications from train drivers from other operators because they are failing the initial testing.
Something wrong there as well.

We are just being fed a long line of bullsh%t to be blunt.

Melbourne had driver shortages around 9 to 10 years ago.  Certainly did not take over two years to sort ...

[#Metro]

Melbourne has trains every 10 minutes on SUNDAY. 10 am - 5 pm.

Something we can only dream about.

METRO Trains Melbourne Dandenong Timetable
https://ptv-prod-timetables.s3.amazonaws.com/timetables/02CRB/1049/ttpdf-vic-_-stt--02CRB-R-1498803865/timetable.pdf

METRO is paid to do it, so METRO does it. It is profitable for them, even with higher production costs on a weekend.

The CEO of the QR Board commented the other day that they cannot introduce sectorisation until possibly 2019 and after the next EB.

If Queensland Rail as an organisation is abolished, does that make the EB that binds QR abolished too?

New company, new EB - is that right?

It would have to be that an entirely new company is contracted by the Queensland Government, and the current Queensland Rail (both as an authority and a Ltd shell company) abolished.

This is different from an operator taking over the ' management only ' section at the top of the 'pyramid' that the QR organisation is.

This is getting an entirely new pyramid. It would be the public sector version of QR 'doing a Connex' and losing its contract.


Indeed, TransLink could perhaps terminate the contract. Because Queensland Rail is public the contract is unenforceable in court

and QR would have no recourse to sue the Queensland Government for breaking the contract because they would have to request

that Jackie Trad approve suing herself. Jackie Trad approving to sue herself? That will never happen!


I am not advocating this, just exploring the possibilities.

In theory, the two organisations could exist independently and simultaneously, with one winding down as the other one is built up.

A new EB would have to be negotiated at the new company, while the old one is being wound down.

Strike action is possible, but the Fair Work Commission has struck down such action in the past if the service is an essential public service, for example here --->  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-09/fair-work-cancels-agl-strike-plans-at-loy-yang-a/8509334

The Victorian Government asked the Fair Work Commission to intervene due to the threat to the state's economy.

[ozbob]

Note Sunday 25th June ... 

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/878797394036441090

[ozbob]

If Queensland Rail as an organisation is abolished, does that make the EB that binds QR abolished too?

New company, new EB - is that right?

Complex question.  Depends on many things.  The existing EB can transfer to the new company (if employees re-employed within 3 months), but there are other things to consider.

Although EBs are thought to be ' set in concrete ' they can be varied and even terminated.  A Government could easily make a case for termination of an EB on the basis that it has franchised a particular entity.  I could never really see a ALP government doing that, but certainly it has happened.

... One major case occured in 2015 when the FWC terminated the Aurizon enterprise agreement, she said.

"Aurizon applied to terminate a number of enterprise agreements that included terms and conditions described as 'legacy provisions'. These had applied while the company was under government ownership," she said.

The company said that these provisions were outmoded, complex and restrictive – that it was burdened with terms and conditions that the unions would not negotiate on.

In this case, the FWC decided to permit the termination as it was not against public interest to do so with an agreement containing such unusual provisions ...
http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/when-can-you-terminate-an-enterprise-agreement-220636.aspx

So say a Government franchised/privatised Queensland Rail, the EB could be done away with I expect.

http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/when-can-you-terminate-an-enterprise-agreement-220636.aspx

https://legalvision.com.au/how-to-end-or-amend-an-enterprise-bargaining-agreement/

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/enterprise-bargaining

In any case I reckon it is the best interests of the Queensland Rail members to cooperate with any proposed EB variation - eg. sectorisation for initial training/qualification (this is to speed up training of train crew).  That is likely to preserve their general employment conditions.  Should a different Government come on the scene, the outcome could well be as for Aurizon. Bye bye!

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 4th July 2017 page 19

Rail fail mess continues

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/882437699331735552

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/883066574910799874

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/883505183266701312

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/883506147235315712

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/883784699155435520

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/883793059682541568

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/883792834184216581