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Queensland Rail

Tilt Train at Bowen Hills, 2016.
Industry	Railway operator
Founded	31 July 1865; 153 years ago (1865-07-31)
Headquarters	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Area served	Queensland
Key people	Nick Easy Phillip Strachan
Revenue	$1,932m (2011–12)
Operating income	$692m (2011–12)
Net income	$128m (2011–12)
Number of employees	7,312 (June 2012)
Parent	Queensland Government
Website	queenslandrail.com.au

Queensland Rail network (interactive map)

Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates suburban and long-distance passenger services. It also owns and maintains approximately 8,000 kilometres of track in Queensland.

History

2470 class at Corinda in the original diesel livery in February 1998

Beginnings

Queensland Railways was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)) for a main line,^[1] and this remains the systemwide gauge within Queensland today.

The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, and the new government was keen to facilitate development and immigration. Improved transport to the fertile Darling Downs region situated west of Toowoomba was seen as a priority. As adequate river transport was already established between the capital Brisbane and the then separate settlement of Ipswich, the railway commenced from the latter locality and the initial section, built over relatively flat, easy country opened to Bigge's Camp, at the eastern base of the Little Liverpool Range, on 31 July 1865. Called the Main Line, the only significant engineering work on that section was the bridge over the Bremer River to North Ipswich.

Tunneling excavation through the Little Liverpool Range delayed the opening of the next section to Gatton by 10 months, but the line was opened to Toowoomba in 1867, the ascent of the Main Range being the reason for the adoption of narrow gauge.

Built by the Queensland government to the unusual (for the time) gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the line largely followed the alignment surveyed by a private company, the Moreton Bay Tramway Company, which had proposed to build a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) horse-drawn tramway but had been unable to raise funds to do so beyond an initial start on earthworks.

The adoption of narrow gauge was controversial at the time, and was largely predicated by the government's desire for the fastest possible construction timeframe at least cost.^[2] This resulted in adoption of sharper curves and a lower axle load than was considered possible using standard gauge, and an assessment at the time put the cost of a narrow gauge line from Ipswich to Toowoomba at 25% of the cost of a standard gauge line. In a colony with a non-indigenous population of 30,000 when the decision was made, it is understandable.

Queensland Rail went on to develop an extensive network of railways to facilitate the economic and social development of the state, totaling 10,500 km at its peak in 1932.

EMU 03 at Sunshine in October 2016

Changing transport patterns resulted in the closure of many development branch lines from 1948 onwards, but at the same time the main lines were upgraded to provide contemporary services, and from the 1970s an extensive network of new lines was developed, particularly to service export coal mines.

Electrification

EMU on the first electric service in Brisbane in November 1979

Commencing in November 1979 the Brisbane suburban network was electrified.

In 1978, discussions were commenced on possible electrification of the Blackwater and Goonyella coal networks. This was due to an expected increase in coal traffic across the networks, ageing diesel-electric locomotive fleet and the increase in diesel fuel costs. By early 1983, a decision had been made to electrify the networks and by early 1984 contracts were already starting to be let for the new locomotives and other works for the project. The decision was made to electrify with the 25 kV AC railway electrification system as used on the Brisbane suburban network. This would allow future connection of the Brisbane network with the coal networks via the North Coast line.

The project was to be carried out in four stages:^[3]

Stage 1: Electrification of the main line from Gladstone to Rockhampton, including parts of Rockhampton marshalling yard, then west to Blackwater and the coal mines in the area. This was a total of 720 kilometres (450 mi) of track.

Stage 2: Electrification of the coal lines south of Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point, then west through the Goonyella system, south-west to Blair Athol and south to Gregory – linking the Goonyella system to the Blackwater system. This was a total of 773 kilometres (480 mi) of track.

Stage 3: Electrification of the main western line from Burngrove to Emerald. This would allow electric freight from Rockhampton to Emerald.

Stage 4: Electrification of the line from Newlands coal mine to Collinsville and north-east to Abbott Point. This stage never went ahead. In 1986 it was decided to electrify the North Coast line between Brisbane and Gladstone instead and this became known as Stage 4.^[4][5]

Interstate expansion

In September 1999 Queensland Rail was rebranded as QR.^[6] In March 2002 Queensland Rail purchased Northern Rivers Railroad and rebranded it Interail, fulfilling a long-held ambition of to expand beyond its state borders.^[7][8]

In March 2003 Queensland Rail entered the Hunter Valley coal market when Interail commenced a contract from Duralie Colliery to Stratford Mine. Another coal contract was won in late 2003 for the haulage of coal from Newstan Colliery, Fassifern to Vales Point Power Station. In 2004 Interail began running Brisbane to Melbourne and Sydney to Melbourne intermodal services. In June 2005 Queensland Rail acquired the CRT Group.^[9]

In June 2006 the Western Australian business of the Australian Railroad Group was purchased.^[10][11][12]

Privatisation and current era

In June 2009 the Queensland Government announced the privatisation of Queensland Rail's freight business.^[13][14] This resulted in Queensland Rail's freight assets being transferred to QR National (now Aurizon) from 1 July 2010.

In April 2013 the Queensland Parliament passed the Queensland Rail Transit Authority Bill 2013 that restructured Queensland Rail.^[15] The explanatory notes published for the Bill outlined that the existing Queensland Rail Limited entity would remain although no longer be a Government Owned Corporation and that entity would become a subsidiary of a new Queensland Rail Transit Authority, in effect creating a Queensland Rail group. Under the revised arrangements Queensland Rail Limited retained assets and liabilities and staff were transferred to the Queensland Rail Transit Authority.^[16] As a result of transferring the staff of Queensland Rail Limited to the Queensland Rail Transit Authority the government moved those employees from the federal industrial relations system to the state based industrial relations system, giving the state more control over industrial arrangements.^[16][17] In November 2013 five labor unions commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of Australia alleging that the Queensland Rail Transit Authority was subject to the federal industrial jurisdiction rather than the state system. ^[17] In April 2015 the court ruled the Queensland Rail Transit Authority was subject to the Fair Work Act 2009 and the federal industrial relations jurisdiction.^[18]

Company Officers

Commissioners

The Commissioners of the Queensland Railways were:

• 23 December 1863 – October 1864: Abraham Fitzgibbon^[19][20]


• 28 October 1864 – 29 April 1869: Arthur Orpen Herbert^[21][22]

Note: from 29 April 1869 to 15 July 1870, the Secretary for Public Works was appointed Commissioner for Railways.^[22][23]

• 15 July 1870 – 12 March 1885: Arthur Orpen Herbert^[23][21]


• 12 March 1885 – 29 July 1889: Francis W. Curnow^[21]

Note: from 29 July 1889 a Board of three Commissioners was appointed to reduce political influence.^[24] This was reduced back to a single Commissioner in September 1895.^[25]

• 29 July 1889 – 30 June 1896: John Mathieson (Chief Commissioner)^[21]


• 29 July 1889 – September 1895: Robert John Gray (1^st Assistant Commissioner)^[21]


• 29 July 1889 – 13 December 1894: Andrew Johnston (2^nd Assistant Commissioner)^[21]

• 1 July 1896 – 30 September 1902: Robert John Gray^[21]


• 5 November 1902 – 24 March 1911: James Forsyth Thallon^[21]


• 30 March 1911 – 31 May 1911: Thomas Mulhall King^[21]


• 1 June 1911 – 31 October 1918: Barnard Charles Evans^[21]


• 1 November 1918 – 28 February 1938: James Walker Davidson^[21][26]


• 1 March 1938 – 28 February 1941: Curteis Anthony Murton^[27]


• 9 March 1941 – 27 February 1948: Percy Robert Turner Wills^[28]


• 1 March 1948 – 31 August 1952: Timothy Edward Maloney^[29]


• 1 September 1952 – 31 August 1962: Gerald Vincent Moriarty^[30]


• September 1962 – 4 July 1976: Alva George Lee^[31]


• 5 July 1976 – 17 December 1982: Percy James Goldston^[32][33]


• 13 January 1983 – April 1986: Douglas Vernon Mendoza^[34][35]


• 20 May 1986 – 31 July 1989: Ralph T. Sheehy^[36][37]


• 1 August 1989 – December 1989: Ross William Dunning^[38][39]


• December 1989 – 7 October 1990: Robin G. Read (Acting Commissioner)^[39][40]


• 8 October 1990 – 30 June 1991: Vincent John O'Rourke^[40]

Note: from 1 July 1991 the position of Commissioner for Railways ceased to exist, replaced by a Chief Executive Officer, reporting to a board of Directors.^[41]

Chief Executive Officers

Services

City network

Queensland Rail, in partnership with TransLink, provides Urban and Interurban rail and bus services throughout South East Queensland. These rail services operate on eleven rail lines including Beenleigh, Caboolture, Cleveland, Doomben, Exhibition, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, Gympie North, Ipswich-Rosewood, Redcliffe Peninsula, Shorncliffe, and Springfield lines. Queensland Rail provides train services on these lines with its rolling stock of electric multiple units, which includes the Electric Multiple Units (EMU), the Suburban Multiple Units (SMU), the Interurban Multiple Units (IMU) and the InterCity Express (ICE).

Due to low patronage, lines such as the Pinkenba line have been closed and replaced by bus services known as a RailBus. During some times of the day trains on the Nambour line and Doomben line are also replaced by the RailBus.

Long-distance trains

Queensland Rail operate these long-range passenger rail services:^[48]

• 
  Electric Tilt Train: Brisbane to Rockhampton
  


• 
  Spirit of Queensland Diesel Tilt Train: Brisbane to Cairns
  


• 
  Spirit of the Outback: Brisbane to Longreach
  


• 
  The Inlander: Townsville to Mount Isa
  


• 
  The Westlander: Brisbane to Charleville
  

Annual patronage for these services in 2011/12 was 795,000.^[49] In 2007/08, the subsidy for the Brisbane-Cairns route was $130 million, or $900 per passenger. In 2001/02 it was $270 million.^[50][51]

Tourist trains

Queensland Rail also operate these tourist trains:^[48]

• 
  Kuranda Scenic Railway: Cairns to Kuranda
  


• 
  The Gulflander: Normanton and Croydon
  


• 
  The Savannahlander: Cairns to Forsayth
  

Fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed (km/h)	Built	Number of units	Routes operated	Notes
Current City network fleet
EMU00		Electric multiple unit	100	1979–1987	87	City network	Planned to be progressively retired alongside the ICE units from 2018.
ICE150		Electric multiple unit	120	1988–1989	8	City network (Sunshine Coast line only)	Planned to be progressively retired alongside the EMU units from 2018.
SMU200		Electric multiple unit	100	1994–1995	12	City network	Planned (along with the SMU220 units) to replace the EMU units as the trains primarily used on lines throughout the city.
IMU100		Electric multiple unit	140	1996–1997	10	City network
SMU220		Electric multiple unit	100	1999–2001	30	City network	Planned (along with the SMU200 units) to replace the EMU units as the trains primarily used on lines throughout the city.
IMU120		Electric multiple unit	140	2001–2002	4	City network
IMU160		Electric multiple unit	130	2004–2011	28	City network
SMU260		Electric multiple unit	130	2008–2011	35	City network
NGR700		Electric multiple unit	140	2015–2018	75	City network
Locomotive fleet1
DL class		Diesel locomotive	50	1961	1		DL4 backup for the Gulflander.
1720 class		Diesel locomotive	100	1966–1970	15	Kuranda Scenic Railway, Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains.
2150 class		Diesel locomotive	100	1966–1970	6	Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains.
2400 class		Diesel locomotive	100	1966–1970	5	Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains.
2470 class		Diesel locomotive	100	1980–1983	5	Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains.
Traveltrain fleet
Electric Tilt Train		Tilting electric multiple unit	160	1997	2	North Coast line
Diesel Tilt Train		Tilting diesel multiple unit	160	2003, 2014	3	North Coast line
Tourist train fleet
45 hp rail motor		Railmotor	40	1931	1		Based at Normanton, used for charters.
102 hp rail motor		Railmotor	50	1950	1	Gulflander
1800 class		Railmotor (trailers)	50	1952–1954	2	Gulflander
2000 class		Railmotor	80	1956–1971	3	Savannahlander	Operated by private contractor.
Heritage fleet
A10 class		Steam locomotive	40	1865–1866	1		No. 6 operational, Australia's oldest operational steam locomotive. Usually placed on display at the Workshops Rail Museum when not required for special trains.
PB15 class		Steam locomotive	65	1899–1926	1		732 being overhauled.
C17 class		Steam locomotive	80	1920–1953	2		974 operational, 1000 being restored to working order.
DL class		Diesel locomotive	50	1939	1		On display at the Workshops Rail Museum.
AC16 class		Steam locomotive	80	1943	1		221A operational. (USATC S118 Class)
DD17 class		Steam locomotive	80	1948–1952	1		1051 restored to working order, currently under heavy overhaul.
Beyer-Garratt		Steam locomotive	80	1950–1951	1		1009 stored pending overhaul
BB18¼ class		Steam locomotive	80	1950–1958	2		1079 and 1089 operational.
1150 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1952	1		1159 stored pending restoration.
1400 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1955	1		1407 stored pending restoration.
1170 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1956	1		1170 stored pending restoration.
1900 class		Railmotor	80	1956	1		1901 operational, also used as a track inspection vehicle.
2000 class		Railmotor	80	1956–1971	6		2034, 2036 and 2057 operational, also used as inspection vehicles. 2005, 2024 and 2031 stored.
1450 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1957	3		1450, 1455 and 1459 stored pending restoration.
1250 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1959	1		1262 on display at Workshops Rail Museum.
SX carriages		Passenger car	80	1961–1962	7		Formed into one 7-car set.
1600 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1962	1		1603 stored pending restoration.
1460 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1964	1		1461 stored pending restoration.
1270 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1964	2		1270 stored pending restoration, 1281 on display at Workshops Rail Museum.
DH class		Diesel locomotive	50	1966	2		DH2 and DH71 stored.
1620 class		Diesel locomotive	80	1967	1		1620 operational.
Special cars
		Vice-Regal Car	80	1903	1		Car 445 is a special saloon retained for use by the Governor of Queensland and is still considered a working item of rollingstock in the QR fleet, however it is on permanent loan to Workshops Rail Museum.[52]

¹ This table only includes locomotives owned by Queensland Rail. QR also hires locomotives from Aurizon as required.

Incidents

Notable incidents involving Queensland Rail include:

• On 15 November 2004 Diesel Tilt Train VCQ5 derailed at Berajondo 419.493km from Roma Street Station due to excessive speed resulting in injuries to over 100 people.^[53] See Cairns Tilt Train derailment
  


• On 31 January 2013 a passenger train failed to stop at Cleveland Station and collided with the station building resulting in major damage to the train and minor injuries to a number of people.^[54]

Criticism and controversy

Sunlander 14 and Traveltrain Renewal

In December 2014 the Queensland Audit Office published a report about Queensland Rail's Sunlander 14 project. The Sunlander 14 project had a scope to acquire a total of 25 carriages to replace the Sunlander passenger train with a new Tilt Train, purchase additional luxury cars for the two existing Diesel Tilt Trains operated by Queensland Rail and refurbish their existing carriages.

The project was initially costed at $195 million and allowed for the operation of five services a week. However, costs had risen by 2012, and the Queensland Auditor-General reported that the eventual cost would be from $358 to $404 million, because Queensland Rail had failed to take into account the requirement for upgraded maintenance facilities, as well as en route provisioning.^[55] The Auditor-General also believed, due to issues with the business case that Queensland Rail had overestimated how popular the new service would be, and had a mistaken belief that the 'luxury' component of the train would attract more high-paying customers.^[56]

In 2013 the project was scaled back, with the train length being reduced to nine cars by removing the luxury sleepers and restaurant cars. That resulted in a revised project cost of $204 million. The Auditor-General's report in particular highlighted that due to the fixed-price construction contract the cost per train car increased and that opportunities were missed to pursue broader long distance train fleet renewal.^[55]

Redcliffe Peninsula railway line and subsequent driver shortages

The Redcliffe Peninsula railway line opened on 4 October 2016 and created a revised timetable that resulted in a 9% increase in services across the network.^[57] Queensland Rail did not have sufficient traincrew to operate the increased services. On 21 October a substantial interruption of service occurred involving the cancellation without notice of 167 services (12% of the scheduled services for the day) due to compulsory rest periods required for the train crew (a break of at least 32 hours required when a crew member has worked 11 consecutive days or 14 consecutive shifts).^[57]

Following the service interruptions the head of the train service delivery unit was stood down^[58] and an interim timetable implemented that reversed the increase in services and demand for traincrew.^[57] Several weeks after the service interruptions Queensland Rail CEO Helen Gluer announced her resignation from the company, along with chairman Michael Klug.^[59] It was announced on 27 October 2016, that the Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Neil Scales, would replace Helen Gluer and that an inquiry known as the Queensland Rail Train Crewing Practices Investigation would be led by Phillip Strachan into the events.^[60]

On 25 December 2016 another substantial service cancellation event occurred due to a lack of available traincrew to operate the services.^[61][62] On that day 261 services, or 36% of scheduled services did not operate.^[57] The underlying reason for the cancellations was a lack of available drivers to operate services. Queensland Rail's Chief Operating Officer resigned several days later.^[62]

The inquiry into Queensland Rail's train crewing conducted by Phillip Strachan was completed in February 2017. The report made a number of findings and provided 36 recommendations that the Queensland Government accepted. The findings included that Queensland Rail had experienced a 9% increase in demand for traincrew due to the revised timetable while also experiencing a 7% decrease in traincrew productivity as a result of revised industrial arrangements, had intentionally operated for a number of years with an under-supply of traincrew and utilised the shortfall to provide paid overtime opportunities, had reduced traincrew intake during 2014-5 in the lead-up to the opening of the new line, had restrictions on external recruitment and had a longer driver training period than like organisations.^[57] The report also highlighted unclear governance arrangements and a short term focus within the operations section that relied on intuition rather than accurate forecasting and a reluctance to share bad news as contributing factors.^[63][57] The recommendations from the report centered around demand management, supply management, people and process management and governance arrangements.^[57]

Following the completion of the Strachan inquiry Philip Strachan was appointed as Chair of the Queensland Rail Board replacing Acting Chair Nicole Hollows^[64], who had been appointed following the resignation Michael Klug.^[65] A Citytrain Response Unit was established within the Department of Transport and Main Roads to oversee the implementation of the recommendations from the Strachan inquiry.^[66] The Citytrain Response Unit subsequently commissioned a whole of business review into the organisation that was conducted by Deutsche Bahn and delivered in July 2017^[67] and published reports tracking the progress of the implementation of the recommendations.^[68] Executive bonus payments were also suspended for 2017.^[69]

See also

• Rail transport in Queensland


• Spirit of Capricorn

References

External links

• 
  Media related to Queensland Rail at Wikimedia Commons


• Queensland Rail


• TransLink


• 
  Works by Queensland Railways at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)


• Strachan Commission of Inquiry Report on Queensland Rail train crewing practices