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Rail report set to call for QR restructure

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe has hinted major structural changes to Queensland Rail are among the recommendations of the Strachan report.

Structural changes to Queensland Rail are expected to be among key recommendations made by an inquiry into the train timetabling bungle to be handed to the state government on Tuesday.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchlifffe has indicated the review, conducted by former Rio Tinto executive Philip Strachan, could see a top-level restructure of QR.

Mr Hinchliffe revealed on Monday Mr Strachan had previously asked him detailed questions about governance issues and hinted at a shake-up of the QR board.

"I imagine he's asked those questions to inform the recommendations he'll be making," Mr Hinchliffe told reporters in Rockhampton, where state cabinet is spending the week.

Mr Hinchliffe has faced repeated opposition calls to resign over the ongoing staffing troubles, but he wasn't as clear about whether Mr Strachan might have any recommendations in relation to him specifically.

"I expect that there should be opportunities in the report to note and acknowledge the role that the shareholding ministers (the transport minister and treasurer) play in these governance issues," he said.

"The content will be very important and any recommendations are ones that the government will be looking at very, very keenly and closely."

Despite the report being due to be released on Tuesday, commuters will have to wait until next Monday for it to be released publicly.

Premier Annastacia Palasczcuk says she won't publicly release the inquiry report - and her government's response to it - until Monday, February 6.

"Philip Strachan wants to personally discuss his report with me when I'm back in Brisbane on Friday afternoon," the premier said from Rockhampton.

"We will be working on that report over the weekend ... and on Monday the report will be publicly released as well as the government's response."

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said the LNP wanted to be briefed on what the Strachan Review contained before it made any commitment to its recommendations.

"I think the first restructure that needs to happen is Stirling Hinchliffe," Mr Nicholls said in Brisbane.

"People have lost confidence in this minister, they won't be catching the trains and that means more traffic on our roads."

The report's imminent release comes on the heels of more delays for commuters, this time on the Redcliffe Peninsula rail line.

The latest problems on Monday morning resulted in services on the Redcliffe Peninsula rail line being suspended.

Replacement buses were called in after a signalling problem around 6am, with commuters warned to expect their journeys to take an extra hour.

The opening of the new line in October 2016 is widely held up as the cause of the rostering crisis due to the extra pressure it put on the timetable.


3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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