Queensland Rail is reminding customers to plan their travel, as it prepares to roll out an extra 430 weekly services across the South East Queensland (SEQ) network from Monday, 29 July.
Queensland Rail's CEO Nick Easy said customers could visit the TransLink website or download the MyTransLink app to plan their travel ahead of Monday.
"These 430 extra services will provide 85 additional trains in peak times each week, when the majority of our customers are travelling, and will restore an extra 142 services each Friday to provide a consistent timetable Monday to Friday across SEQ," Mr Easy said.
"We'll also be upgrading 59 existing services from three-carriages to six-carriages from this week which, together with the 430 extra weekly trains, will add 200,000 extra weekly seats to the SEQ network.
"We're looking forward to seeing customers across the region benefiting from these additional trains and seats from Monday.
"While only minor adjustments will apply to all other services, we do encourage customers to check their 29 July timetable and plan their travel ahead of Monday morning.
"These improvements have been underpinned by the largest traincrew recruitment campaign in Queensland Rail's history, which has seen 177 new drivers and 314 new guards enter supply since October 2016.
"A further 74 trainee drivers and 58 trainee guards are currently in training, with more driver and guard schools planned to commence later this year to ensure we deliver a pipeline of talent."
Mr Easy said teams from right across Queensland Rail would be situated and ready to support the rollout of the 430 extra services from Monday morning.
"Delivering a new timetable is a complex task which requires the consideration of a range of interconnected logistics beyond the availability of traincrew, including the planning, stabling and maintenance of trains, rostering and daily train movements," Mr Easy said.
"More trains running across the network is naturally more challenging to operate, and our teams will be 100 per cent focused on ensuring we transition to these changes reliably and sustainably for customers from next week.
"From station customer service to network response staff, we'll have extra hands on deck across the network - particularly in peak times - to support a reliable roll out.
"We will also be staffing Queensland Rail's social media channels for longer hours from Monday 29 July to Friday 2 August, from 5am - 7.30pm, to assist with any questions our customers may have about their 29 July timetable changes.
"We hope these improvements can make a real difference to our customer's schedules each week, providing more frequent services and more options for our customers to get to and from their commitments sooner."
Extra weekly services by line from 29 July:
• Cleveland line - 48
• Beenleigh line - 43
• Ferny Grove line - 44
• Northgate to Roma Street shuttles - 239
• Caboolture line - 9
• Springfield line - 13
• Doomben line - 6
• Ipswich/Rosewood line - 6
• Shorncliffe line - 12
• Redcliffe Peninsula line - 2
• Gold Coast line - 6
• Airport line - 2
The additional 430 weekly services will restore the timetabled services planned with the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line in October 2016. The Sunshine Coast line retained all services since October 2016.
