Brisbane commuters face another week of public transport delays
Hundreds of Brisbane commuters queued on suburban streets waiting for buses; Planned rail closures are causing further delays on popular public transport routes.
Travelers in Brisbane were warned of travel disruption earlier this month; Major railway lines in the city were to be closed for maintenance until the end of April.
Queensland Rail said the deadline had been extended by at least four days due to an industrial dispute.
On Monday morning, commuters on Brisbane’s north side expressed frustration at poor planning to mitigate the effects of rail line closures, complaining of poor bus services and long waits.
A passenger traveling from Narangba to Bowen Hills said they got off the train at Northgate Station and joined about 300 other passengers to wait for the bus.
By 9.15am they had been waiting in line for more than half an hour.
“There are not enough buses. They [Queensland Rail] “I know when the trains will arrive at Northgate, but there are no buses waiting,” he said.
“The planning was terrible considering they had the same problem last week and knew what to expect.”
In a review of Queensland Rail’s Facebook postAnother passenger said that one bus every 10 minutes was insufficient to meet the demand.
“If the train is almost full at Caboolture, it is clear how many buses are needed.
“Queensland Rail, not Translink, is responsible for the logistics of rail disruptions. There is no communication for those who need seats and cannot stand for long periods.”
Another commented that at 9am the buses were unair-conditioned and “incredibly full” and said they had been leaving Strathpine since 7am.
“I arrived at Bowen Hills at 8.50am. Almost [two hours] and I haven’t found a train to my destination on the south side yet.”
A Queensland Rail spokesman said passengers were warned to allow extra time for their commute during the period of service disruption and “customer feedback was taken into consideration”.
“[We] “We are working with Translink to work on these routes and allocate extra buses based on availability.”
Buses will replace trains between Northgate and Bowen Hills stations and Varsity Lakes and Boggo Road stations from Monday to Wednesday this week.
Trains on the Sunshine Coast line will run between Gympie North and Caboolture, and trains on the Doomben line will run between Doomben and Eagle Junction.
From Thursday to Sunday, buses will replace trains between Varsity Lakes and Boggo Road stations.
Rail closures and disruptions expected until April 30.
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