Draft 2012 Timetable Update 105 Queensland Rail’s new CEO talks about Sunshine Coast / Caboolture train services. Much has happened since I last issued my regular newsletter back in March 2013. Time to do so has been the main constraint, but the lobbying on behalf of Sunshine Coast commuters continues behind the scenes. Reliability has improved dramatically over the last 8 months to the point that delays for us are now the exception rather than the rule. It’s a truly remarkable turnaround and Queensland Rail are to be congratulated for it! It is borne out in my own daily statistics over the past 2 years, found here at the bottom of the page: railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=7184.0 If you see a Queensland Rail employee in your travels, how about you say thank you to them for their great service. The number one issue I repeatedly find in our travels is the lament for the loss of our old 20 station express leg trains. A 100km journey that takes 2 hours does nothing to endear this public transport option for travellers between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Every Sunshine Coast commuter I talk to says they want a train to run express from Elimbah or Caboolture to Bowen Hills (and return) like the good old days of pre-June 2011. The next most common issue is provision of working toilets on our trains (which is pretty well resolved on our peak time trains) and the third is train connectivity to buses or other connecting trains. If it isn’t please let me know. On Thursday 15 August 2013, I met with the new Chief Executive Officer for Queensland Rail, Mr Glen Dawe, to discuss the many issues that Sunshine Coast commuters face daily. Mr Dawe is a highly experienced ‘railwayman’s railwayman’ - who brings a wealth of critical hands-on experience to the role. He is also very personally familiar with the Sunshine Coast rail line. It was a very productive meeting and there are a few points I would like make commuters cognisant of, with regard to our trains. Mr Dawe is keenly aware that many commuters want to see the return of (20 stations or more) express trains that were replaced by trains that now run Caboolture to Northgate (14 stations) and Petrie to Northgate (9 stations). The changes were brought in at that time to relieve the crowding on our trains by providing more peak hour services to Caboolture, and an extra 3 new trains for us. The 3rd (5:24pm from Roma St - Nambour) was implemented on Monday 11 July 2011, after mass crowding issues. Mr Dawe states in regard to express trains; “We are comprehensively reviewing this matter and will respond once we have finished the review.” We look forward to his response. The next issue I raised was the continuation of the Gympie North trains, affectionately known as the ICE (Inter City Express) trains. These trains are the second oldest in the QR fleet, having begun service in 1988. They were used for the old Tilt Train route to Rockhampton before being relegated to the Sunshine Coast line once the ‘Tilt’ took over the long-distance services. They are roomy and very comfortable for long haul commuters, but hold far less passengers per carriage than the more modern train sets. I have received numerous comments about the cleanliness of these trains with many commuters stating that the upholstery felt like it hadn’t been cleaned in years. There were also numerous reports of the seat bases being lose and sliding around with the movement of the train. Mr Dawe has promised to address these issues with a corrective maintenance plan on a regular basis, and that the works to achieve this are already under way. This was confirmed to me only this morning with a tweet from a regular commuter delightedly stating “Caught the Gympie North they’ve definitely had a clean. I can even smell it :)” That’s great news to hear and I am appreciative to Mr Dawe for his prompt actions. I can also report that the infamous 3:30pm (3 carriage) Roma Street to Caboolture train situation will be addressed to alleviate the massive crowding issues that users of this service have endured. I will let you know the outcome of this once it is announced. In closing, Mr Dawe says; “Your feedback ensures we stay tuned into the people who rely on our services every day and that we continue to improve our performance for the benefit of all rail commuters.” Thank you Mr Dawe, keep up the great work! QRail on track for cleaning up its act Sunshine Coast Daily, Friday 6 September 2013, p6 sunshinecoastdaily.au/news/qrail-on-track-for-cleaning-upitsact/2011953/ Kind Regards, Jeff Addison Sunshine Coast commuter advocate Campaigner for rail duplication of the North Coast Line Mob. 0435 987903 Jeffrey_Addison If anyone does not want to be included in these emails, please let me know and I shall remove your name. I hate spam / junk mail myself and do not want to inflict it on others. Please feel free to say so.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 11:41:30 +0000
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