Amid replies to complaining commuters, apologies and promises of refunds and explanations, the account tweeted an emoji depicting a laughing face. Photo / Twitter
Amid replies to complaining commuters, apologies and promises of refunds and explanations, the account tweeted an emoji depicting a laughing face. Photo / Twitter
A track fault, storm damage, and a broken down train came together to cause commuter chaos in Brisbane on Thursday morning.
But it was a single emoji that may have caused the most trouble for the struggling transport network Queensland Rail.
Disorder set in around 4.30am when a weld failed at Yerong station in the city's north, and continued throughout the morning.
But along with delays, commuters' main complaints were about the lack of communication around the interruptions, and many sought answers on social media.
Around 12.30pm, after delays had affected the network for almost eight hours and passengers were still having to wait up to half an hour longer for trains, QR's Twitter account delivered a single, mocking image to users seeking answers about what had happened and whether they'd be refunded.
"We apologise for the emoji tweet which has now been deleted as it did not come from within our team," the account tweeted. The transport provider said it was investigating the incident, but it's already earned criticism from the state government.
"Today we've had a confluence of infrastructure mishaps and misfires that have caused a poor level of service delivery," transport minister Sterling Hinchcliffe told media in Brisbane.
"I think a very serious lesson has been learned by how this wasn't communicated well."
Mr Hinchcliffe said the emoji ordeal was "clearly some sort of breach of the QR communication system".
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk agreed QR's communications weren't acceptable and said QR should have been more proactive in letting people know about the situation.
"I do believe that Queensland Rail should have been more proactive in letting people know about the issues," she said.
"Frankly, it's not good enough."
When trains did arrive, they were packed. Photo: RACQ/ Twitter
The state's transport department is preparing to shell out $300,000 in refunds as compensation to all commuters who used Citytrain services up until midday.
Opposition leader Tim Nicholls blamed the state government for ignoring track maintenance as it struggled to deal with the network's staffing crisis.
"They're concentrating on fixing their previous failure and they've taken their eye off the ball," he told reporters in Brisbane.
"It certainly seems that this is a government and a transport minister that can't walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to trains."
Thursday's debacle follows a staffing crisis in October which caused the cancellation of major services.
Mr Hinchcliffe resisted calls for his resignation over the crisis, which also led to resignations of senior bureaucrats. The saga is currently the subject of a Commission of Inquiry.
