Queensland Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe and QR chief executive Helen Gluer are in the political crosshairs as the fallout continues from major network delays caused by a shortage of train drivers.
Mr Hinchliffe refused to guarantee Ms Gluer's future while the transport minister is himself under pressure to retain his post following a three-day rail crisis.
The shortage was sparked by the opening of the new Redcliffe Peninsula line, which took 130 years to come to fruition but took less than a month to create chaos on southeast Queensland's network.
More than 100 services were cancelled on Friday, leading to a scaled-back interim timetable and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promising a "forensic examination" to get to the bottom of what happened.
"I want to know who knew what when, why it was not passed up the chain, and I also want to know what questions the board posed, and what questions the CEO posed in relation to this issue," she said in Proserpine on Monday.
Ms Gluer said the problem snowballed because Queensland Rail had to fill the extra services on the new line while also training new drivers who needed supervision.
"Since the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line it was a heavier training schedule than we thought. We also thought that it would dissipate more quickly than it has," she said.
Ms Gluer said in many cases QR was calling drivers on their holidays or days off up to Thursday night to fill the gaps; however, it wasn't enough and it had to start cancelling services on Friday.
"It was very badly communicated and I can't apologise enough for this."
Standing beside the QR boss at a large media conference on Monday to announce the recruitment of 100 new drivers and 100 guards to alleviate the problem, Mr Hinchliffe deflected direct questions as to whether her job was safe.
"The absolute focus that I have is to deliver the reliability and services that Queensland commuters expect and rely upon," he said.
"I know the CEO is working 100 per cent focused on that; I am working 100 per cent focused on that; and then making sure we can deliver for the future beyond that."
Mr Hinchliffe has come under fire for attending the Gold Coast 600 Supercars event on the weekend instead of attending an emergency QR board meeting.
Deputy opposition leader Deb Frecklington has also called for him to be axed by Ms Palaszczuk, who was also focused on fixing the problem rather than repercussions.
"This is a minister who has been in hiding since this issue arose and he needs to explain to the people of Queensland where it all went wrong," Ms Frecklington said.
© AAP 2024
