Railbus shifts with driver navigation,
ready in minutes

Busable builds the driver duties from the railbus shift file and puts the route on each driver’s tablet with turn-by-turn directions. Every railbus is tracked against its timetable. For operators running Queensland Rail track closures.

Rail replacement across all states
Turn-by-turn
Directions from the depot to the first stop and through every trip
From the government
Railbus routes and timetables from the Queensland Government
One app
Rail work in the same app as school runs and charters
Every railbus tracked
Live position and on-time running against the timetable
Rail replacement bus at a station stop

Railbus services depend on drivers who know the route.

Each track closure brings a temporary route, along roads that do not normally carry buses and to stops set up for the closure. Most drivers have never driven it. That makes rail work harder to staff, and it puts on-time running at risk for the operator and for the department.

Operators manage it today with familiarisation runs, printed run sheets and a separate app for rail work. When shifts change at short notice, the duties are keyed in again by hand. Once the railbuses are on the road, there is little visibility of where they are or whether they are running to time.

Railbus duties on the driver’s tablet

On the day, the driver opens the railbus duty on the tablet and presses start. Directions follow the railbus route as it was planned, from the depot to the first railbus stop and along the corridor, with the next stop and on-time status on screen.

Turn-by-turn directions with lane guidance. Shown here on a regular route rather than a replacement corridor.

Railbus corridors run along roads drivers rarely use, so a missed turn is easy. Driverable™ calculates a way back for a heavy vehicle, using routing from our technology partner HERE Technologies, and tells the driver to park safely and contact operations if there is no bus-legal way through.

The return route to the planned service, shown in red. Shown here on a regular route.

See the full driver walkthrough

What railbus work involves, and how Busable handles it

Queensland Rail schedules the closure. The operator runs the railbuses.

Drivers are reluctant to take rail shifts on routes they have not driven.
Driverable shows the route on the tablet in the cab, with turn-by-turn directions from the depot to the first stop and through every trip, and the next stop and on-time status on screen.
Familiarisation runs take drivers off other work before the closure.
Each driver has the route on the tablet on the day, which reduces the familiarisation needed beforehand.
Rail work is often run in a separate app, because the government plans the routes.
The railbus routes and timetables are imported from the Queensland Government’s data feeds, so rail work runs in the same system as school runs and charters.
Shift files arrive at short notice.
Able AI™ reads the PDF shift file, selects your shifts, excludes standby shifts and other operators’ shifts, and drafts the duties for you to check. It takes minutes rather than a manual rebuild.
Closures are extended.
The revised shift file is processed the same way, and the updated duties go to the drivers’ tablets.
The department needs to know where the railbuses are and how they performed.
Every railbus is tracked against its scheduled trip, with on-time running and the Shift Trip Matrix available after the closure.

What Busable does for a track closure

From the shift file through to the drivers and the reporting after the closure.

Driver navigation

The duty in order, the pre-departure check and turn-by-turn directions along the railbus route, planned for the bus’s height and length, with the next stop and on-time status on screen.
Turn-by-turn from the depot

Shift file import

Able AI reads the PDF, matches each trip to the government’s railbus timetable and drafts the duties, including dead runs. Nothing is created until you confirm it, and every duty is checked against the fatigue limits.
Shift file to draft duties

One system for all work

Rail duties sit on the roster board alongside school runs and charters. Drivers sign in once and see their rail duty with the rest of their work.
No separate rail app

Tracking and KPI reporting

Each railbus on the live map against its trip. On-time running, tracking coverage and cancelled or incomplete trips reported against KPI targets, and the Shift Trip Matrix with kilometres and hours for every shift.
KPIs from the tracked trips

Our QLD railbus guide shows the full process on a sample shift file of 46 shifts: Able AI takes the operator’s 30 shifts and drafts 26 duties, then through to driver navigation.

In the depot office: shift file to driver duties

Able AI conversation: a request to import the driver duties for DemoOne QLD from the attached shift file using the QLD SEQ rail replacement data and to check them against the fatigue rules; a preview summary listing 46 shifts on the sheet with 30 selected, the other depot's 16 shifts and four standby shifts skipped, eight draft routes, 134 of 134 trips matched, 20 stops, 26 driver duties and 10 dead runs; then fatigue check results showing all 26 duties compliant against limits of 5.25 hours continuous work, a 12 hour spread and a 15 minute minimum break
A sample railbus shift file with fictional operators, shortened where marked: 30 of 46 shifts taken for the operator, all 134 trips matched, 26 duties written as drafts, and every duty inside the fatigue limits.
Driver duty 31001 in Busable: a map of south-east Brisbane showing the dead run from Eagle Farm Depot and the railbus route down to Beenleigh, beside a timeline with sign-on at 02:41, a dead run from Eagle Farm Depot to Beenleigh station, R589 and R774 railbus trips, and a meal break at Fairfield Park
One duty from that file: sign-on at the depot, the dead run to Beenleigh, then each railbus trip and the meal break in order, with the run on the map.

Reporting on the railbuses

During the closure, each railbus is tracked against its scheduled trip, so the depot can see which services are on time, late or off route without radio calls.

Fleet tracking map with vehicles colour-coded by status, a fleet control panel counting total, online, on-time, late, early and off-route vehicles, and a timeline scrubber along the bottom
Every vehicle on one map, with on-time, early, late and off-route counts. Shown here on a regular network rather than a closure.

After the closure, on-time running for the railbus services comes straight from the tracking, with tracking coverage and cancelled or incomplete trips reported against KPI targets.

Delivery KPIs dashboard showing on-time performance, early and late departures, records analysed, trips with tracking and open issues, above a daily on-time running bar chart with target lines
On-time performance, early and late departures and the daily trend against target. Shown here on a regular network rather than a closure.

See every KPI report

Integrated modules for Queensland rail replacement

The modules used for a Queensland track closure.

Driverable™ – The driver in the bus

The duty in order, the pre-departure check, and turn-by-turn directions along the railbus route.

Able AI – The shift file

Reads the railbus shift file, matches every trip to the government’s railbus timetable and drafts the duties for you to confirm.

Rosterable™ – Duties and allocation

Rail duties on the roster board with the rest of the work, fatigue limits checked, and a driver and bus on each before the roster is published.

Planable™ – Railbus routes and timetables

The railbus routes, stops and timetables from the Queensland Government’s data feeds, with each route on the map to check.

Reportable™ – KPI reporting

On-time running, tracking coverage and cancelled or incomplete trips against KPI targets, and the Shift Trip Matrix with kilometres and hours for every shift.

Queensland rail replacement, in detail

Common questions

How do drivers find their way on a railbus route?

Through Driverable on the tablet in the cab. The railbus duty from the shift file is on the tablet with every trip in order, and the directions follow the railbus route from the depot to the first stop and along the corridor.

Will drivers need to learn the railbus route first?

That remains the operator’s decision. Driverable gives turn-by-turn directions from the depot to the first stop and through every trip, so a driver who has not driven the corridor has the route on screen.

What is a railbus shift file?

The PDF of driver shifts for a Queensland track closure: sign-on times, the trips each shift runs, standby shifts, effective dates and the dead runs out of and back into the depot. Able AI reads it and drafts the duties for you to check.

Where does Busable get the railbus routes and timetables?

They are imported directly from the Queensland Government’s data feeds. Every South East Queensland railbus route and timetable comes into Busable with its route shape, stops and times.

What is a railbus in Queensland?

A railbus is a timetabled bus service that replaces trains during a Queensland Rail track closure. A closure usually runs both express and all-stops railbuses along the affected corridor.

Who arranges rail replacement buses in Queensland?

The Department of Transport and Main Roads arranges replacement capacity, Queensland Rail schedules and publishes the track closures, and Translink is the customer-facing journey planner and app.

How far in advance are Queensland track closures known?

Queensland Rail publishes planned closures on a rolling twelve-month calendar, though additional works can be scheduled and closures can be extended at short notice.

Can Busable run Queensland railbus work?

Yes. Able AI drafts the duties from the shift file, the roster board puts a driver and a bus on each, Driverable guides the driver along the railbus route, and the depot tracks every railbus with on-time running and the Shift Trip Matrix.

Terminology

Railbus

The Queensland term for a timetabled bus service replacing trains during a track closure, run as express or all-stops along the corridor.

Track closure

Closing a section of rail line to passenger trains so engineering or project work can be done. The rough equivalent of a NSW possession.

Shift file

The PDF of driver shifts for a track closure: sign-on times, the trips each shift runs, standby shifts, effective dates and the dead runs out of and back into the depot.

TMR

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, which arranges rail replacement capacity and owns the dedicated replacement bus fleet.

Queensland Rail

The operator of the South East Queensland train network, which schedules and publishes the track closures.

Running a Queensland track closure?

Send us a shift file and we will show you the driver duties and navigation built from it.

Or read the QLD railbus guide and see rail replacement in all states.

Talk to us about railbus work