How Qld Rail's train bungle unfolded

2016

JANUARY

- External consultants prepare a report for Queensland Rail, warning of an impending train driver shortage. Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe later says he was never given a copy.

OCTOBER 4

- Redcliffe Peninsula line officially opens.

OCTOBER 20

- QR tells Hinchliffe a driver shortage will hit commuter services the following day because not enough staff have been trained for the new line.

OCTOBER 21

- More than 100 train services are cancelled.

OCTOBER 25

- QR's head of train service delivery Mick Skinner is stood down over the bungle.

- Reduced, interim timetable comes into effect across southeast network.

- Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announces former Rio Tinto executive Philip Strachan to head an inquiry into what went wrong.

OCTOBER 27

- QR CEO Helen Gluer resigns, admitting planning for the new line was flawed. QR chairman Michael Klug also resigns.

- Neil Scales, the transport department's director-general, appointed as QR's interim chief executive

OCTOBER 29

- Hinchliffe admits public transport advocate Paul Pluta emailed him in March, warning of a driver shortage linked to a new fleet of trains

OCTOBER 31

- QR says it's working to fix problems with the new train fleet, including design faults that mean drivers can't see where they're meant to stop on platforms

NOVEMBER 1

- Hinchliffe says he only learned about the January report - warning of a driver shortage - on October 31. Refuses to step down and narrowly escapes a no-confidence motion in parliament

DECEMBER 8

- Severe early morning storms, a track fault and a train breakdown combine to cause major delays for the morning peak across the southeast network.

- In response to the issues, Hinchliffe orders around $300,000 paid back to affected commuters.

DECEMBER 25

- A major driver shortage results in 235 services being cancelled across the network- a full third of the timetable for the day.

DECEMBER 26

- Hinchliffe orders a report into the Christmas Day bungle to be handed to him by the end of the week

DECEMBER 28

- Following a New Year's Eve planning meeting with Hinchliffe, QR chief operating officer Kevin Wright, the executive directly responsible for rostering, stands down.

DECEMBER 30

- QR hands Hinchliffe a two-page report into the Christmas Day bungle. Hinchliffe demands a second, more comprehensive report.

2017

JANUARY 5

- Hinchliffe releases the second report into the Christmas Day bungle which finds the fact that Christmas Day fell on a Sunday exacerbated rostering problems.

JANUARY 18

- Premier and Hinchliffe meets with QR for briefing on new timetable.

JANUARY 30

- Major delays on the Redcliffe Peninsula rail line during the morning peak. QR blames a signalling fault rather than a rostering issue.

JANUARY 31

- The Strachan Inquiry report is handed to the government.

FEBRUARY 6

- The Strachan report absolves Mr Hinchliffe from any responsibility, instead blaming QR for cultural problems, procedural issues and poor communications, and calling for a management overhaul. However the minister resigns, with Deputy Premier Jackie Trad appointed as his replacement.