Qld govt unveils plan to fix Qld Rail
Mar 8, 2017 under Australia 90 , Nepalese in Australia 91 , Travel 114
The Queensland government has released its action plan to fix Queensland Rail, as well as the man to oversee the operation, new CEO Nick Easy.
The former boss of the Port of Melbourne, Mr Easy, will take up the new role in April, despite the fact he has no rail experience.
QR chairman Phillip Strachan on Wednesday defended his choice, saying Mr Easy had the skills to deliver the changes necessary to get the rail provider back on track.
"I never said rail experience was paramount, I said operating experience, and Nick has that," Mr Strachan told reporters on Wednesday.
"He's already learning today, we've been on a train, and I have every confidence he;'ll become very proficient as a rail person very shortly."
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said he wished Mr Easy "the best of luck" and warned him he would need to find a way to work with the rail union to get the timetable fixed.
"He's got a difficult job in bringing the unions to heel, particularly with a transport minister (Jackie Trad) who is beholden to the union movement," Mr Nicholls said.
Mr Easy didn't believe it would be a big challenge to get each party on the same page.
"I will engage with them (the unions) and work with them in a constructive way," he said.
"But what we need to do is make sure the decisions are the right decisions."
Mr Easy's appointment comes more than four months after Helen Gluer resigned as QR chief executive due to its ongoing timetable debacles and driver shortage.
The government also released its official response to Mr Strachan's inquiry into the debacle, committing to all 36 recommendations from the report as well as releasing its plan to implement them.
Ms Trad said the plan would modernise QR and give commuters back their confidence in the rail network.
"People will see that our response is not only a detailed recommendation-by-recommendation response, but also that the Palaszczuk government will work with Queensland Rail to make sure we put customers first," Ms Trad said.
Meanwhile Mr Strachan said they were working on the Easter timetable, as they move to have 200 new drivers trained by 2019 to ensure a surplus roster into the future.
Tagged: Queensland 7, Rail 13, QLD Rail 1, 2576
