Shadow Minister Statement: Minister's advice as reliable as Citytrain

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Tim Nicholls MP
Shadow Minister for Transport and Traffic Management
Shadow Minister for Trade
Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations   
Member for Clayfield            

Minister's advice as reliable as Citytrain

WE'VE now got two different Transport Ministers with two different stories about why more and more Queenslanders have been left stranded at train stations across the south-east for so long.

That's part of the problem, according to Queensland Shadow Transport Minister Tim Nicholls who just wants the problem fixed and has even given the Bligh Government an idea or two on how to fix it.

"We've got two successive Transport Ministers either in denial - or blaming somebody else, or just wanting to play political games. There are thousands of people wasting their time waiting for trains that just don't show up," he said.

Mr Nicholls said he was very concerned that more than 5,000 Queenslanders were left waiting for trains each day because of unscheduled CityTrain cancellations in July - September this year.

The problem, according to current Transport Minister John Mickel, is that QR has a staffing issue - they just can't get qualified people to work on the CityTrain network.

Not so, said former Transport Minister - now Deputy Premier Paul Lucas.

In an answer to a Question on Notice from the Queensland Coalition earlier this year, Mr Lucas praised the Queensland Rail (QR) CityTrain recruitment program as having an "extremely high success rate" that would "meet the requirements of the March 2008 timetable".

Mr Nicholls said Queenslanders left waiting for trains that just didn't show up at train stations had good reason to be angry with both ministers.

"These ministers are about as reliable as a CityTrain timetable - or one of their infamous 'no show' trains. They have known about the problem for a good long time and have just decided to ignore the problem," Mr Nicholls said.

"People waiting at train stations don't have much time for excuses.
People who use our CityTrain services just expect the train to turn up so they can get to work on time - or get home to spend some quality time with the family."

Mr Nicholls said he was encouraged to hear Queensland Rail would now adopt the Queensland Coalition's interim measures to "staff-up"
increasingly popular routes with experienced staff from low patronage services.

"We have forced the Bligh Government to at least listen. And, I welcome the Minister's assurances that he will follow my advice and fix the CityTrain staffing problem," he said.

Mr Nicholls has also recommended Queensland Rail consider taking on appropriately qualified part time and casual staff to increase the capacity and flexibility of CityTrain to respond to changing commuter demands and expectations.