Minister blames union action for delays, as commuters face further disruptions
Queensland’s transport minister has blamed industrial action by electrical workers during wage negotiations for the long closure of a major train line in Brisbane and problems with replacement buses.
Train services between Bowen Hills and Narangba on the city’s north side are expected to resume on Thursday. Commuters faced long maintenance delays this week.
Minister Brent Mickelberg was not publicly present during the delays, but held a press conference Wednesday afternoon blaming the delays. protected industrial action The delays were claimed by the Electrical Trades Association over Easter, echoing earlier claims by the government and Queensland Railways.
However, this was disputed by passengers who accused the transport department of failing to provide enough buses to accommodate the normal number of passengers, especially on Monday.
A total of 75 buses were operating on the north side and 260 buses on the south side on Tuesday. Almost 30 buses from the railway’s reserve bus fleet have been reallocated to the north side to reduce waiting times.
Mickelberg refused to apologize to passengers for the delays but acknowledged it had been a difficult time.
“We have tried to minimize the impact on commuters wherever possible,” he said, explaining that the closures should occur around Easter when the fewest people use the network.
However, the actions of some unions that prolonged the closure period made this situation worse.”
The minister said there were delays in shutting down overhead power cables so the work could be done safely.
Mickelberg said the government and the union attended Fair Work Commission hearings over the Easter weekend and the union had been told to carry out this work, adding that the union had committed to re-energising the lines so trains could run on Thursday.
Mickelberg said the track openings also meant freight trains could travel north from Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the transport department has assured passengers that bus services will operate between Varsity Lakes and Boggo Road stations from Thursday to Sunday to meet demand due to upcoming road works on the south bank.
From Monday to Friday next week the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines will operate as a combined service between Varsity Lakes and Banoon stations and no trains will run between Banoon and Boggo Road stations.
The same thing is expected to happen on April 27-30.
A department spokesman said it would work closely with delivery partners during the work and supply hundreds of interstate bus drivers.
“Service levels are constantly monitored and TMR is exploring options to provide further services where demand is high,” the spokesperson said.
According to TMR, the replacement bus timetables used to manage losses in train service this week were consistent with those used for previous comparable line closures.
An ETU spokesman said it would not comment while the enterprise bargaining agreement was before the committee.
Get instant alerts for important breaking news. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.
