Queensland Rail drivers rolling in $200k pay

QUEENSLAND Rail drivers earned up to almost $200,000 last financial year, including a whopping $75,000 in overtime alone, new figures show.

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QUEENSLAND Rail drivers earned up to almost $200,000 last financial year, including a whopping $75,000 in overtime alone, new figures show.

The figures, provided to the LNP by Transport Minister Mark Bailey following a question on notice, detail the top five wages paid to drivers in 2016/17 at the height of the rail fail, with the most highly paid earning $193,507, including $75,888 for about 952 hours of overtime.

Another earned about $188,447, including $61,912 in overtime.

The highest paid train drivers earned $193,507 a year.

Mr Bailey said the base earnings for a Citytrain driver as of September 1, 2016, was $95,351, with the median remuneration paid to full-time Citytrain drivers in 2016-17 about $130,022.

“This amount is inclusive of weekend and public holiday penalty rates, as well as overtime,” he said. “The average number of overtime hours for Citytrain drivers was 6.45 hours per week, which amounted to an average of $511.98 per week in overtime.”

Opposition Transport spokesman Steve Minnikin lashed the Government over the figures, saying: “Whilst commuters are cramming into packed trains or being left stranded on the platform, Queensland Rail drivers are counting their cash.”

The figures also show about 69 new drivers have come on line since the rail crisis began in October 2016, while 77 are in training. About 168 new guards have also come on line during that time, with 51 in training.