The Queensland government says it's on track to fill train driver positions regardless of a ruling by the Fair Work Commission allowing Queensland Rail to hire externally.
The Commission has rejected a bid by the Rail Tram and Bus Union to block QR hiring fresh drivers from outside the organisation, instead of giving QR employees first option to retrain and become drivers.
The southeast Queensland rail body has been in rebuilding mode since cascading rostering failures led to hundreds of services being cancelled from October 2016, with trains still running on a reduced timetable.
The major Strachan Inquiry into the crisis recommended hiring drivers from both inside and outside QR, but the union moved to block external recruitment, claiming it violated current employees' enterprise agreements.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey welcomed the ruling, but said recruitment was already well on track with a net increase of 38 drivers and two years' worth of recruits currently in training.
"When you've got responsibility for 900 people on your train, it is not something you can do over a week," Mr Bailey told reporters on Monday.
"There are significant improvements that are happening and we are seeing the system gradually improve as more drivers come into the system."
Mr Bailey again blamed the Liberal National Party for the initial rail fail, saying a hiring freeze and the sacking of driver trainers had led directly to the crisis.
But Deputy LNP Leader Tim Mander said it was Labor's fault for being beholden to union influence on negotiating pay and conditions for drivers, including the clause banning external hires.
"I don't think there's any greater example of the government being run by the unions than the rail fail fiasco," Mr Mander said on Monday.
"It's going to take possibly up to two years before we reach full capacity. Meantime, rail commuters in Queensland suffer."
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