Queensland Rail comes clean
One of the New Generation Rollingstock trains ... some of which are out of action and sitting idle at Woombye stabling facility with air conditioners running constantly to prevent mould.
Brand new trains’ mouldy air-conditioners the reason for Woombye’s sleepless nights:
AIR-conditioning units on Queensland Rail’s brand new multi-billion dollar “New Generation” Rollingstock trains have to run day and night for days at a time to deal with mouldy air-conditioning units, Queensland Rail admitted last week.
Constant noise from the units has caused sleepless nights for puzzled residents near the QR stabling yard at Woombye, where the trains are stored. They were assured years ago that there would be only a negligible increase over existing noise experienced by the Woombye community if the stabling facility went ahead.
News that Queensland Rail had been running the noisy units full boar for the past three months came as no surprise to weary Woombye resident Mike Melzer, one of a number of residents growing tired of his queries being side-tracked.
“QR have lied to us for three months about the trains being in ‘stabling mode’,” said Mr Melzer. “They will tell us anything in a condescending attempt to placate us.
“After constant requests QR have admitted the residents are right. We can hear air conditioners running constantly. Yet for the three months we have asked they have told us that we were imagining it.”
Responding to a question from The Gazette, Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy said QR had been made aware of reports of mould and odour affecting some of the New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) fleet.
“Where mould has been detected on a train, that train has been taken out of service and the mould completely removed. Any train suspected of having an issue with mould or odour will not enter service until thoroughly inspected and confirmed as safe to do so.
“To address these known concerns, Bombardier – which manufactured and maintains the trains – has temporarily modified the NGR air-conditioner settings to operate at all times to provide continuous regulated air-flow.
“We appreciate the inconvenience this may be causing nearby residents at this time as we work with the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Bombardier to address this issue.”
Services had to be cancelled in March after staff reported feeling ill and mould and odour was discovered.
But the project has been plagued with problems from the start. An inquiry in 2018 by retired District Court Judge Michael Forde said the multi-billion-dollar contract to build the trains was flawed with all 75 new trains not complying with disability access laws.
The $4.4 billion project was manufactured in India by a consortium led by the company, Bombardier
After completion the new trains failed disability access tests, including having space for wheelchairs to move into the aisle.
Rectification work to treat the mould and odour problems on the trains was to cost $335.7m.
Mould excuse on the nose, says advocate
From Jeff Addison
Sunshine Coast Commuter Advocate
I WAS a member of the original Queensland Rail Woombye Community Reference Group (WCRG) set up in June 2015 ‘to provide an advisory role to Queensland Rail on community issues, concerns and values.’
I thought that the WCRG sessions were professionally run and Queensland Rail (QR) were doing everything possible to ameliorate community concerns.
Whilst it started out with the best of intentions, in the end the outcomes failed to meet the standards expected by the Woombye Community.
We were told that there would be a “0 to 2 decibel increase over existing noise currently experienced by the Woombye community”.
We were told “Cumulative noise from the stabling yard and the North Coast line is not predicted to give rise to new or more pronounced exceedances of the Rail Noise Planning Levels.”
Are the Rail Noise Planning Levels set too high?
How much does the modelling differ from the long-suffering residents’ reality?
I would like to find out why the modelling, studies and reports resulted in an outcome of abject ‘sight and sound’ failure.
In October 2015, we were told that the air conditioning units of the Next Generation Rollingstock (NGR) trains would only be left on during cleaning and maintenance so as to ensure the Workplace Health and Safety of the cleaners.
Queensland Rail’s chosen option for the NGR ‘mould and odour’ issue is to allow the air-conditioning units to run 24/7.
That is not a long-term solution, and these carriages have a 32 year maintenance life.
Can you imagine if your home air-conditioning supplier’s response to a ‘mould and odour’ issue was to tell you run your home air-conditioning unit 24/7 ?
I’d ask for the issue to be fixed.
Herein lies the dilemma.
The mixture of responsibilities for the NGR trains is this: they are owned by TMR; operated by QR; and maintained by the Qtectic Consortium (of whom Bombardier is a member).
All this contributes to a painfully slow, if not stalled, resolution process.
It’s not rocket science to work out that you either have to reduce the noise insitu, or introduce additional site measures to muffle it.
If you cannot fix the trains (and I think they should), then build baffle walls.
Same goes for the lighting.
Why do the lights need to wait for an hour before dimming?
Surely 15 minutes could suffice combined with appropriate directional shielding.
How many personnel use the facility? Can’t they be issued with torches?
It’s high time that action was taken to fix these issues. For some Woombye residents they can’t even sleep on the matter.
Minister invited to discuss solutions
Woombye Community and Business Association has invited Transport Minister Mark Bailey and Nicklin MP Marty Hunt to discuss a bipartisan solution to light and noise mitigation at Woombye Stabling yard.
Woombye resident James Kasmer said the Minister had not accepted the request for a meeting by Tuesday but he hoped he would agree to come.
Mr Kasmer has been advocating for Queensland Rail to improve mitigation measures dealing with light and air-conditioning noise coming from the Woombye Rail Stabling Facility.
He said the community wanted to work with QR “amicably and reasonably” to find some common ground but was disappointed QR had dodged questions regarding the source and reason for the constant noise.
“True community engagement starts with Queensland Rail being upfront with people who have taken the time to write to them with fair concerns and questions.”
Mr Kasmer said it was disappointing to discover mould on NGR Trains was at least a three months old issue in light of multiple queries sent to QR.
“It’s very disheartening, with the issue actually being recorded as far back as the beginning of March,” he said.
“Nine News Queensland television on March 5 this year reported ‘92 services, some of them on city lines, were delayed or cancelled due to mouldy or smelly trains’.
“Why has Queensland Rail not divulged this critical information to myself and other residents who have made contact in writing until now?
“Why could they have not issued a statement before this time stating the real reason behind the air-conditioners being consistently run on NGR Trains in Woombye during periods of non-operation is to dry out the trains?
“If they need to dry out, why must they sit here in Woombye so close to residential areas when they need to be elsewhere in a workshop?”
Fellow resident Mike Meltzer, who is kept awake at night and woken in the morning by light and noise from the stabling facility, said Bombardier should consider shutting down the air conditioners and leaving the doors open.
“Fresh air is the enemy of mould,” he said. “Circulating air through filters will prolong the problem.
“I would like Queensland Rail, Transport and Main Roads and Bombardier to earnestly seek a workable solution to the noise and light issues generated by an industrial complex operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week beside a residential area.
“Common sense says it should not be here. But it is. We want TMR to devise a long term plan to manage it until it can be relocated.”