More passengers on board with record train performance

Up to 20,000 more train passengers a day are getting to work or school and returning home on time with Queensland Rail hitting an all-time high for peak on-time running.

Premier Campbell Newman and Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said last financial year, more than 96 per cent of peak services arrived at their destinations on time – some of the best on-time running performance in Australia.

“The result is a credit to the ongoing focus of Queensland Rail staff to deliver a safe and reliable rail service as part of our strong plan for a brighter future for all public transport users,” Mr Newman said.

“We have improved on our record from the previous financial year that saw trains arrive on time during peak periods 93 per cent of the time, up significantly from performance under Labor which languished in the 80s.

“The LNP continue to focus on improving the reliability of public transport services which is great news for passengers wanting to get to work, school or university.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said in addition to more trains running on-time, a new timetable launched in January had delivered an extra 1000 train services each week with turn up and go frequency on the Beenleigh, Cleveland, Caboolture and Shorncliffe lines.

"In the first six months of the new timetable, we have been able to maintain on-time running which is now ahead of Sydney and Melbourne even though we have much tougher on-time parameters,” Mr Emerson said.

“We’ve also maximised existing resources to ensure our passengers have a more comfortable ride on their commute, with improved customer loading across all lines. These figures show we continue to deliver on our election promise to improve reliability and frequency of the public transport network, which is driving more and more people to choose the bus and train over their car.”

Percentage of peak time services running on time* - combined AM and PM:

* Arriving within 3.59 minutes of the timetable, and 5.59 minutes for Gold Coast, Rosewood and Sunshine Coast services.

[ENDS] 18 August 2014

Media Contact: Sarah Henderson 0409 827 773 (Minister Emerson)