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Category: Rail Transport / Public Sector / State Parliament

New QR trains order derailed by minister over design problems

Wednesday, 1 Mar 2017 07:45:37 | Andree Withey

Jackie Trad blamed the former government for the "half-price" NGR train. (Supplied: Department of Transport and Main Roads)

The Queensland Government has halted the delivery of new trains for Queensland Rail (QR) from the manufacturer in India, because of ongoing problems with their operation.

Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad said the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) has significant design issues which need to be sorted, including braking problems and driver visibility issues.

It is another major setback for QR management, coming on top of the ongoing driver shortage that has caused a significant cutback in services and prompted former transport minister Stirling Hinchliffe to resign last month.

He did so shortly after a damning commission of inquiry report into the driver shortage found complacency, a reluctance to share bad news and an "unwieldy" management structure led to the crisis.

Mr Hinchliffe admitted to problems with the NGR last October, saying some drivers were not able to see the stopping points on platforms from the windscreens of the trains.

Queensland has already taken delivery of 13 of the 75 trains on order with another two in transit as part of the $4.4 billion deal.

'You get what you pay for'

Ms Trad said no money had been paid to the companies involved in their construction, Bombardier and Qtectic, and pointed the finger of blame at the former LNP government.

"Back in January 2014 Tim Nicholls and Scott Emerson announced ... they were crowing about the fact that they were getting these trains for half price manufactured in India," she said.

"Now everybody knows you get what you pay for.

"There will be no further deliveries until issues identified by Queensland Rail engineers have been addressed.

"There are a number of issues around the detailed design ranging from windscreen visibility, braking systems, air-conditioning, etcetera etcetera.

Ms Trad said the NGR carriages first started arriving in 2015.

"I think it's time we said no more deliveries until we sort out all the issues and these trains are able to run on Queensland tracks," she said.

"We have paid nothing so far and we don't pay until these trains run on our tracks."

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