'This is my fault': Queensland Rail chief's mea culpa on cancellations

The chief executive of Queensland Rail has blasted her organisation's performance after more than 100 Citytrain services were cancelled because of a lack of crew.

QR boss Helen Gluer said she "unreservedly" apologised for Friday's cancellations, which were only notified late on Thursday, and cited the recent opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line as the main reason for the debacle.

Ms Gluer said the "unacceptable customer service" was all down to QR being short-staffed and caught out.

"The performance of Queensland Rail since the new Redcliffe Peninsula line opened has been unacceptable and, from our customers' perspective, totally unacceptable," she said.

Queensland Rail chief Helen Gluer has taken full responsibility for network delays.Credit: Glenn Hunt

"… We know now we had unrealistic assumptions on how much train crew we did need to run this new timetable."

An interim timetable would be released over the next few days, Ms Gluer said, while more drivers and guards were trained to the extent of being "route ready" for the new Redcliffe Peninsula line.

"We can't say for certain how long the training will take, because all drivers and guards are different in terms of the amount of training they need to do that," she said.

In the meantime, Ms Gluer said she put up her hand to take responsibility for the problems.

The delays were caused by train crew understaffing.Credit: Michelle Smith

"This is my fault, this is Queensland Rail's fault and we had unrealistic expectations of what crewing we needed to actually deliver this timetable," she said.

Ms Gluer said QR was understaffed and needed about another 20 drivers to be able to meet all services.

"But that's a simplistic answer – so my apologies for that – to a more complex question, because the answer is staff have got to be able to have sufficient leisure time and down time from a rail safety sense," she said.

Current route information could be found at the Translink website.

Queensland Liberal National Party opposition transport spokesman Andrew Powell said Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe needed to take responsibility for the cancellations.

"With commuters facing yet another day of heavy delays, the least they deserve is an explanation from the minister around the cause of the outages," he said.

"Instead, Labor has been hiding behind TransLink and Queensland Rail, sending them out to handle media and take the heat.

"The Redcliffe Peninsula Line has been a long time coming. Where was the minister and why weren't proper staffing provisions put in place to ensure a smooth transition?"

For his part, Mr Hinchliffe said he was "clearly unhappy" with the level of service provided by QR in recent weeks.

"(On Friday) morning I convened a meeting of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail to be briefed on these cancellations, their cause and the measures being proposed to restore the high level of service expected by the Queensland government," he said.

"Following that meeting, I have instructed the chair of Queensland Rail to call an urgent meeting of the board this weekend.

"I have asked the Queensland Rail board to satisfy itself that the executive leadership team has put in place an appropriate interim arrangement to restore continuity of services across the entire network.

"Further, I have asked the board to advise me directly on any resourcing required to maintain high levels of service, including any impact made by staffing reductions to train crew and training personnel under the former government."

The Rail Tram and Bus Union, meanwhile, levelled the blame squarely at the former LNP Newman government.

"The secret plans of (Tim) Nicholls and (Scott) Emerson to privatise this publicly owned asset have backfired spectacularly today with a train driver shortage causing delays on networks," RTBU Queensland state secretary Owen Doogan said.