Reported service disruptions rail - no longer in use

[ozbob]

Minister Hinchliffe is doing a press conference at Mayne right now.

I expect some fare compensation might be offered for today.

We're in the QR control room to hear from @StirlHinchliffe about this morning's rail delays. 😆 #qldpol pic.twitter.com/IarqvmqDW9

— Jamie McKinnell (@jamie86) December 8, 2016

[ozbob]

Twitter

Marlina Whop ‏@MarlinaWhop 1 minute ago

Qld Rail blames  "rare events" for train delays- welding problem at Yeronga; storm damage at Dutton Pk & South Bris @7NewsQueensland

===============

Twitter

Jamie McKinnell ‏@jamie86 7m

Train delays caused by "a confluence of infrastructure misfires and mishaps", @StirlHinchliffe says #qldpol

[ozbob]

Finally a small step in the right direction ..

JUST IN: Transport Minister announces refunds for commuters caught up in train delays up until Midday today. #7News pic.twitter.com/ZfuODKcvYJ

— 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) December 8, 2016

[ozbob]

I have had some private discussions re the need to offer some fare compensation for the ongoing issues.

Pleased to see that at least there is an acknowledgement for today's unplanned disruptions - fares from first service to 12 noon will be refunded.  Assume that will be done automatically on the go card system.  Paper tickets? <  well that is a good question Ozbob ..
There might be some clarifying stuff put on the TransLink website we hope.

[ozbob]

8th December 2016

Media Release
Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe

Citytrain Travel to be Refunded

Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games Stirling Hinchliffe has this afternoon received a briefing from Queensland Rail's Network Executive General Manager following a series of operational issues that have impacted train services today.

The Minister has announced customers who were delayed on the rail network this morning, between the first service and midday, will receive a refund for their journey.

"There have been significant delays and crowded trains across the network particularly during this morning's busy peak," Minister Hinchliffe said.

"It is unacceptable and we know the impact this has on passengers trying to get to work, classes and family commitments.

"Passengers are understandably angry about the delays and are demanding answers to what went wrong.

"The refunds will take some time to process through our ticketing system – possibly several weeks, but some go card users will start to see refunds from Saturday.

"Paper ticket holders can also request a refund by calling TransLink on 13 12 30. These customers must still retain their ticket to be eligible for a refund."



[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/108996

Automatic go card refund for train travel

Following the large train disruptions on the morning of Thursday 8 December, we will be issuing automatic go card refunds to affected passengers.

If you travelled on our train network between 5am and 12pm with your go card, your account will be automatically refunded. You do not need to apply for a refund.

Refunds will begin rolling out from Saturday 10 December, but may take up to six weeks to fully complete. Once your refund has been issued, it will be trigged the next time you touch on.

Paper ticket holders can obtain a refund be calling our contact centre on 13 12 30 after Monday 12 December. Please keep your ticket as proof of travel to recieve your refund.

Note:

    Refunds are only available to train customers who travelled between 5am and 12pm on Thursday 8 December 2016.
    Bus, ferry and tram customers are not eligible for a refund.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Delayed Brisbane train commuters offered refunds

Storms, a dodgy mould, an overhead line issue and a broken down train combined to create a public transport meltdown on the Queensland Rail network on Thursday.

Forced yet again to defend Queensland Rail in front of media, Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced Thursday morning's train commuters would have their fares refunded.

QR network executive general manager Tim Ripper said "a number of unrelated track issues" caused the dramas that led to delays of up to an hour.

Mr Ripper said maintenance crews were doing rail repairs at Yeronga when one of the welds on a mould failed, with the metal pouring out.

"They needed to replace that, so that was the start of our issues this morning," he said.

The mould failure occured on the last weld of the shift, about 4.30am, but Mr Ripper said the welding was normally very reliable.
Advertisement

There were also two storm-related signalling failures at Dutton Park and South Brisbane.

"It did take us some time, our crews were on site very quickly but the reality is, given the storm damage, it did take them a while to understand what the causes were," Mr Ripper said.

To compound matters, there was an overhead line issue at the Gloucester tunnel at Dutton Park, causing more delays.

On the Gold Coast unit there was also a "failed unit", a broken down train, which had to be moved.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk criticised how the issues were communicated to passengers on Thursday morning.

Mr Hinchliffe, who was first briefed at 6.30am, said information did not get out as "as timely a way as I would have thought possible".

"It's not acceptable that people have not had the notice to make changes to their arrangements," he said.

"I made it very clear, and in fact I made clear at that 6.30am briefing, that it was very important that we get out on the front foot and make sure that our customers were aware of the impacts and the potential impacts.

"I think a very serious lesson has been learnt."

Mr Hinchliffe said it "seemed" it was communicated well to customers who were already on the network.

To add to the drama, Queensland Rail's Twitter handle sent a tweet at 12.30pm, featuring only a laughing emoji, before it was quickly deleted.

Mr Hinchliffe said no one in the government "certainly I don't think anyone in QR" regarded the situation as funny.

"That's clearly been some sort of breach of the QR communication system - that's being fully investigated," he said.

"Measures have been taken to secure that communication network further, I think it's been disappointing that we've seen something like that happen, but I can assure you there's no one within the organisation that I'm aware of that was responsible."

But Mr Hinchliffe would not be drawn on whether Queensland Rail's Twitter account was hacked.

Mr Hinchliffe said all commuters who travelled on the Citytrain network on Thursday morning, until noon, would receive refunds on their go cards.

He said that would cost TransLink more than $300,000.

Mr Ripper said train crews worked as quickly as possible to fix the issues.

"These are very rare events for our network, we've done a lot of work over the last three years fault-proofing the network so we can provide a reliable and safe service for our customers," he said.

Mr Ripper said he thanked commuters for their patience and sincerely apologised for the delays.

He said the network would be operating as normal for the afternoon peak.

The 26-minute press conference is just the latest time Mr Hinchliffe has had to address the media over train debacles, after more than 100 services were cancelled in October due to a train driver shortage.

[BrizCommuter]

Great. Now where is the refund for the rest of the chaos over the last two months?

[#Metro]

You are the Premier, have you considered doing something about it?

The Premier seems to be saying that QR can't even get 'we're sorry' right.  Now I am angry and furious too.

Can all she do is to be angry and furious?

Yep. So "angry" and "furious" that her minister is going to rubber stamp hundreds of millions of dollars, and wave it through when its service contracts come up for renewal.

Just don't sign the contract when it comes up for renewal next. No more contracting from monopolies!

Open up the field for all operators to apply. It is the right thing to do.

Elsewhere, spending money on only your favourite company/contractor without public tender would land you in hot water, possibly court.

There is no good reason for the status quo arrangement of contracting monopolies, and renewing their contract no matter what. You cannot

even apply meaningful penalties as it is just the government fining itself.


We get rid of bad politicians this way (elections), should also extend the concept of non-guarantee to bus and train operators (competitive contracting).



#ByeAnnastacia
#ByeJackie

*Note: Things happen from time to time which are unavoidable. On the other hand, communications and backup measures are often not that great.

[Stillwater]

Tweet from Christine Salins, FoodWine Travel, on QR site:

"Message on PA could not be understood - everyone just ignored it. Essential you get that right in case of emergency."

This was in response to alarms going off at Central Station.  Passengers were not informed (could not hear) what was being said over PA.

Turned out it was a fire alarm that was a false alarm.  But what if it wasn't?

QR response: "Thanks for providing this further information. We will ensure it is passed on future communication improvements."

Another thing for the Premier to get angry and furious about, on behalf of commuters.

[#Metro]

"Message on PA could not be understood - everyone just ignored it. Essential you get that right in case of emergency."

I often cannot understand train announcements. They are rarer these days, but often whatever is said over PA is jumble.

Often the PA on the train might not even work!

[BrizCommuter]

The BrizCommuter word on QR's latest system meltdown.
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/yet-another-qr-meltdown.html

[tazzer9]

"no more cancellations due to driver shortages".   
Hinchliffe may be about to overtake peter dutton as the obvious lie gold medal winner. 

[ozbob]

BrizCommuter:
Yet Another @QueenslandRail Meltdown
> https://t.co/wdSxLVsR2f#qldpol

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) December 8, 2016

[ozbob]

Train chaos sparks blame game > https://t.co/nD2saCADsQ #qldpol
LOL it was @LNPQLD @TimNichollsMP that cut QR staff including maintenance

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) December 8, 2016

[petey3801]

"no more cancellations due to driver shortages".   
Hinchliffe may be about to overtake peter dutton as the obvious lie gold medal winner.

....Yesterday didn't have anything to do with driver shortages as such.. There is only so many as required/standby crews that can be in place, once they have been used up, not much else that can be done. The controllers do/did their best to keep as much as possible running, but when there are multiple failures on one line, it makes things bery difficult.

[brissypete]

Seems to be an (unpublicised) issue with the dual gauge line for inbound Gold Coast Line services using the suburbans, 2 so far through Fairfield causing delays to all stoppers.  Train i just boarded is 7 mins late.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[ozbob]

  wtf?

==================

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109296

Service alteration: 7.16pm Kippa-Ring-Central train

The 7.16pm Kippa-Ring to Central train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109301

Service alteration: 8.13pm Central-Springfield Central train

The 8.13pm Central to Springfield Central train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[brissypete]

Seems instead of mass bystitution on Rosewood line there are random ones spread around.  Still better than just cancelling and people having to wait for next train.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[red dragin]

Been a few more late this evening. I wonder how many actually occurred but when unreported until the meltdown the other day.

[ozbob]

Twitter

TransLink ‏@TransLinkSEQ 5 hours ago

The 11.53pm Northgate to Caboolture train will be replaced by a rail bus. http://bit.ly/2goCbmo  #TLAlert #TLCabooltureline

=================

Twitter

TransLink ‏@TransLinkSEQ 5 hours ago

The 12.40am Varsity Lakes to Bowen Hills train will be replaced by a rail bus. http://bit.ly/2gLC6Wl  #TLAlert #TLGoldcoastline

=================

Twitter

TransLink ‏@TransLinkSEQ 5 hours ago

The 10.53pm Bowen Hills to Varsity Lakes train will be replaced by a rail bus. http://bit.ly/2hif6PB  #TLAlert #TLGoldcoastline

=================

Twitter

TransLink ‏@TransLinkSEQ 5 hours ago

The 11.05pm Caboolture to Northgate train will be replaced by a rail bus. http://bit.ly/2glw6SZ  #TLAlert #TLCabooltureline

[locojoe67]

The announcers have been repeatedly directed to slow down their speech and enunciate clearly. It has been raised numerous times, including at focus groups where passenger feedback has highlighted the issue. Yet nothing changes.

[locojoe67]

"Train i just boarded is 7 mins late...."

That would be nice. The 717 I boarded at Ferny Grove left at 730. The previous train was a 3 car unit that left about five past seven, which i declined to board.

Back on the six car train, Passengers were being left behind by Alderley. Qr staff were doing their best, but i git the impression they knew little more than anyone else.

Comminication of the delays was woeful, with little info on the translink website, and early suggestions of minor delays', rather than the wholesale cancellations and lengthy delays that actually occurred. Five hours afterwards the train scheduling was still badly effected, with no official acknowledgement of such.

Like many others, had i known earlier like with alerts i could have changed plans. But once you're in the system its impractical to change mode or working hours.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109371

30 min delays: Shorncliffe line trains

Shorncliffe line trains travelling in both directions may experience delays of up to 30 minutes due to a points fault at Northgate.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109376

15 min delays: Cleveland line trains

Cleveland line trains travelling in both directions may experience delays of up to 15 minutes due to an earlier points fault at Northgate.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109381

5.09pm Shorncliffe-Central train cancelled: Shorncliffe-Albion

The 5.09pm Shorncliffe to Central train is cancelled from Shorncliffe to Albion due to an earlier points fault at Northgate. The next train will depart Shorncliffe at 5.39pm.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109406

Service alteration: 11.35pm Northgate-Kippa-Ring train

The 11.35pm Northgate to Kippa-Ring train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109401

Service alteration: 11.05pm Northgate-Kippa-Ring train

The 11.05pm Northgate to Kippa-Ring train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109396

Service alteration: 10.53pm Northgate-Caboolture train

The 10.53pm Northgate to Caboolture train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109386

Service alteration: 10.05pm Caboolture-Northgate train

The 10.05pm Caboolture to Northgate train will be replaced by a rail bus due to an operational issue.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

12th December 2016

Rail cancellations continue

Good Morning,

A lot of rail service cancellations on Saturday and Sunday evenings ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1862.msg184920#msg184920 ).

It does appear that the ' staff rostering issues ' continue.  It is sad to see a once very high standard rail operator in terms of ontime performance and service delivery now struggling to maintain a reduced timetable.

What is really going on?  There perhaps was clue in the Sunday Mail (11th December 2016 page 64).

Railways will need debt plan if Pitt has to more more refunds



Are the ongoing issues actually industrial?

In any case, can it please be resolved.  These constant service cancellations are a major problem for all.

Thank you.

Robert

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

[ozbob]

Latest media: &#39; Rail cancellations continue &#39;
> https://t.co/oKkRejQA9P#qldpol@AnnastaciaMP @StirlHinchliffe @Curtis_Pitt_MP
It&#39;s time .. pic.twitter.com/FrVnbfhxER

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) December 11, 2016

[petey3801]

I also posted this is in the other thread, but there is currently no industrial action (be it formal or informal) being taken by traincrew. Don't know who is feeding this guy information (or whether he is simply making it up), but it is a complete load of rubbish.

[ozbob]

Thanks Petey.  Peter Cameron was the first to report the ' bonuses ' so he clearly has some sources.  Maybe they are stirring the pot!

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109476

12.34pm Domestic Airport-Roma St train cancelled Domestic Airport-Albion stations

The 12.34 Domestic Airport to Roma Street train is cancelled from Domestic Airport to Albions stations due to an operational issue. This train will now commence from Albion at 12.49pm.

The next Domestic Airport to Roma Street train will depart Domestic Airport station at 1.04pm.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109466

12.12pm Roma Street-Domestic Airport train has been cancelled

The 12.12pm Roma Street to Domestic Aiport train has been cancelled due to an operational issue. The next Roma Street to Domestic Airport train will depart Roma Street station at 12.27pm.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109491

4.05pm Roma Street to Cleveland train has been cancelled

The 4.05pm Roma Street to Cleveland train has been cancelled due to an operational issue.

The next Roma Street to Cleveland train will depart Roma Street station at 4.27pm.

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109501

4.33pm Bowen Hills-Cleveland train cancelled

The 4.33pm Bowen Hills to Cleveland train has been cancelled due to an operational issue.

The next Bowen Hills to Cleveland train will depart Bowen Hills at 4.46pm.

==================

Take that Cleveland line > whack!

[ozbob]

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/109526

4.32pm Roma Street-Northgate train cancelled

The 4.32pm Roma Street to Northgate train has been cancelled due to an opperational issue.

The next Roma Street to Northgate train will depart Roma Street at 4.36pm.