THE train service to Cleveland has been dubbed the Misery Line by commuters so frustrated that they are resorting to buses and cars.
Lobby group Rail Back on Track's Robert Dow said services to Cleveland were not frequent enough and unreliable.
“There is a lot of frustration,” Mr Dow said.
“People are giving up. They may use buses or are going back to cars which is just adding to congestion.”
A commuter said on a Rail Back on Track social media post there were also bad connections with Redland Bay buses at Cleveland.
“… You usually have two minutes to get from the station to the bus stop which means you are hoping for a late bus. The big hold-up is at Wellington Point where the train to Cleveland has to wait for the city service,” the commuter said.
Mr Dow said congested trains sometimes skipped stations, meaning that people had to wait longer.
He said changing the timetable could give a better outcome and giving an extra peak afternoon service would boost commuter confidence.
Mr Dow said the single line between Manly and Cleveland, with the lack of a third platform at Manly, contributed to failures.
“The Inner City Rail Capacity Study in 2008 said that a third platform would be needed at Manly by 2012,” he said.
Mr Dow also called for a consistent timetable on weekdays, saying there were fewer services on Friday.
“It’s been like this since January 2017.”
Oodgeroo MP Mark Robinson said Labor’s Rail Fail had hit the Cleveland line harder than the rest.
“Local Labor MPs Kim Richards, Mick de Brenni, and Don Brown must start to support our community and demand their Transport Minister Mark Bailey do something about it,” Mr Robinson said.
“This is their responsibility as elected members.”
Queensland Rail chief executive Nick Easy said controllers ran trains express through stations to minimise or prevent delays to other services.
“These decisions are about achieving the best possible outcome for our customers and the network by ensuring the effects of disruptions are minimised,” Mr Easy said.
“Queensland Rail is aware of the impact express running can have on Cleveland line customers and is actively seeking to minimise the need to take this action.”
Mr Easy said Queensland Rail usually ran a train express if the next service was less than five minutes away.
“In most cases, changes to stopping patterns only affect one to three stops, mostly commonly stops closer to the city like Norman Park and Coorparoo.
“We are continuing to listen and monitor customer feedback regarding our timetable and will be working to implement additional services once we are in a position to sustainably do so.”
“Timetable planning is complex and is not just dependent on train crew numbers.
“In addition to crewing requirements, timetabling involves a number of factors including rollingstock availability, stabling capacity and management, and network capacity.”
