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An overhead powerline issue that caused major delays this week on Brisbane's northern train lines was a "random" event that needs to be explained further to commuters, says a public transport lobbyist.
Key points:
- A dewirement was the reason for this week's disruption on Brisbane's northern train lines
- A dewirement occurs when parts of the train and overhead wires that conduct electricity come apart
- The issue takes some time to resolve, causing some delays for commuters
A dewirement, or fallen overhead powerline, at Eagle Junction at 10am on Wednesday forced Doomben and Airport line train passengers onto rail buses until the issue was resolved early on Thursday.
Caboolture, Redcliffe Peninsula, Shorncliffe and Sunshine Coast lines were suspended until after 1pm on Wednesday.
Queensland Rail Acting Head of South East Queensland Neil Backer said the team "worked quickly to ensure the safe recovery and repair of the network".
He said dewirements were "frustrating and do cause significant delays for our customers, and we are sorry for any inconvenience".
"They are, however, complex matters that require the attention of staff with specialist skills working in an environment with rigorous safety protocols."
Eagle Junction is also a high-volume station that carries hundreds of commuters a day.
Rail Back on Track coordinator Robert Dow said while QR had experienced a tough summer so far with three dewirements, the issues occurred on "any railway system that has any overhead wiring".
"They tend to be random events," he said.
"Sometimes the pantograph, the proponents that collect the electricity for the train, sometimes they cannot work properly and pull down the wires, sometimes the parts that hold up the wire can fail.
"In one instance, a person was working on a block of land nearby [and]' a piece of tree fell on the lines."
Mr Dow said QR maintained a "fairly strict maintenance on the lines" and he was "not overly concerned with dewirements".
But he pushed for more education on what exactly a dewirement was and how long it could take to repair.
"They have to shut off the power, get a locomotive to pull the train out and then effect the repairs," Mr Dow said.
"If people are educated as to what a dewirement is, that it's relatively serious as to the impact, and they'll be on rail buses.
"They will happen from time to time on any system."
QR's Mr Backer said there was "a strict maintenance and inspection regime in place for our overhead powerlines ranging from drone and hands-on close visual inspections through to automated geometry recording vehicles and engineering reviews of data".
"This maintenance regime is ongoing across the entire network, 365 days of the year," he said.
"We want to assure our customers that we take all incidents on our network very seriously.
"The cause of [Wednesday's] incident is being investigated and Queensland Rail is committed to running a world-class rail network."