Queensland Rail will return its full South East Queensland weekday timetable across all rail lines on Monday 16 November, ahead of schedule, Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg announced in a ministerial statement on Monday (2 November). Major lines will return to a roughly six-to-ten-minute service frequency on average during the weekday peak periods, and express services will be restored.

The reduced rail timetable was introduced in May due to a maintenance backlog caused by union-protected industrial action, with Queensland Rail receiving close to 2,500 notices of protected industrial action during that time, the statement said. Queensland Rail has been progressively adding services as the backlog was addressed and has been operating at 91 per cent of the timetable since earlier this month.

The restored timetable will be updated in Journey Planner by Wednesday (4 November), and customers are encouraged to check online for the latest travel information.

"For the last seven months Queenslanders have been battling a reduced timetable due to union protected industrial activity," Mr Mickelberg said. "We did our bit, we negotiated in good faith and we struck a deal. I want to thank commuters for their patience, and I want to thank those workers who have helped us restore a full timetable ahead of schedule."

Reduced Timetable Until 15 November

Until Sunday 15 November, trains will keep running on a reduced timetable, according to a Translink service update. Weekday services operate on a modified schedule similar to a Saturday timetable, with extra services during morning and afternoon peak periods. Peak trains run every 15 minutes on lines including Beenleigh, Caboolture, Cleveland, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Redcliffe Peninsula and Shorncliffe.

From 16 November, Translink says services on most lines will run every six to ten minutes during weekday peak periods, and scheduled express services will also run. It advises customers to replan their journey closer to the time.

Brisbane Times reported there would be 8503 services each week, with trains every six to eight minutes during peak periods and every 15 to 30 minutes off-peak, depending on the line. "I want to acknowledge again the frustration," Mr Mickelberg told reporters outside Central Station in Brisbane. "I'm acutely aware of the challenges commuters have experienced with the reduced timetable."

Train Controllers

Agreement has been reached across five of seven enterprise agreements, the statement said. There was not majority support amongst train controllers to adopt the new enterprise agreement; that process will now continue, and the government described it as a matter for the union and its membership to work through.

Brisbane Times reported that voting within the Electrical Trades Union is yet to close, and that train controllers narrowly voted the deal down, though the government said it believed their concerns could be addressed. RTBU branch secretary Peter Allen said members feared a clause could require them to work longer hours at a control panel. "We warned them that their proposal to force our members to spend more time at the control panel, and less time managing their fatigue would likely see this agreement rejected," he said. "QR should work with us immediately to reach a deal that our members can accept."

Under the deal, workers would receive a 10.5 per cent wage increase over three years, costing the government about $300 million, Brisbane Times reported. "It's a fair offer," Mr Mickelberg said. "We want to see our workforce well paid and productive, but we also want to make sure that we respect taxpayers' money."

Queensland Rail and seven unions had been negotiating in the Fair Work Commission since May before reaching an in-principle agreement in September, when the government said it would aim to restore all services by the end of November, ABC News reported at the time.