The LNP opposition has called the Queensland government's transport minister "incompetent", claiming he has gone into hiding after a lack of staff caused massive train cancellations on Friday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It comes after more than 100 Citytrain services were cancelled on Friday due to a lack of crew, with the recent opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line cited as the main reason for the debacle.
Deputy Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington called on Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe to tell commuters what he knows, when he was briefed and "what he knows about this issue".
"This is an issue that didn't happen overnight," Ms Frecklington said.
"He has that responsibility to talk to the people of Brisbane about whether they can get to work on Monday.
"The buck stops with this minister.
"When it comes to a debacle like this, he's nowhere to be seen - he's in hiding."
Mr Hinchliffe said the Queensland Rail Board met at my instruction on Sunday
"I addressed the board and executive leadership team to express the clear expectation that government has for the highest level of service delivery in public transport," he said.
"The board is providing a response report to me overnight."
The Queensland Rail board met on Sunday to discuss the crisis and put in measures to address service issues.
Ms Frecklington deflected questions over whether staffing cuts under the previous LNP government contributed to the commuter chaos and whether Queensland Rail should be fined for not meeting on-time running targets.
"The LNP are incredibly proud of our record when we were in government, when we left government trains were running on time at 96 per cent," she said.
Mr Hinchliffe previously said he would ask the board to advice on any impact made by staffing reduction to train crew and training workers under the former government.
Ms Frecklington also asked where Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was, what she was doing about the staffing crisis and "why is she protecting another incompetent minister?"
Ms Palaszczuk and some members of her cabinet are in Proserpine for the Whitsunday Community Cabinet meeting.
An average of 95 per cent of Citytrains must run on time each quarter or Queensland Rail can be hit with an "abatement charge".
The latest data available reveals that on Thursday, 89.03 per cent of trains on the city network were on time during the morning and afternoon peak periods, measuring customer impact.
On Friday, Queensland Rail chief executive officer Helen Gluer said she unreservedly apologised for the cancellations.
A modified timetable will operate from as soon as Tuesday, while Queensland Rail attempts to train enough drivers to fulfil its service commitments.
But Ms Gluer warned passengers faced weeks of potential disruptions and timetable changes before the system would be fully up and running.
