On Christmas Day, about one-third of services were cancelled, which followed months of troubles due to a driver shortage, including 100 cancellations in October following the opening of the Redcliffe Pensinsula Line. About half of the train drivers working New Year's Eve were originally on a rostered day off, with 120 of the 259 Queensland Rail drivers accepting a shift on an RDO. It is not uncommon for drivers to be offered shifts on RDOs, especially on the day of a major event, with more services scheduled. There were 30,000 fewer people heading to South Bank for New Year's Eve compared to last year, prompting questions the network may not have been truly tested. But Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the network delivered on its extra services.

"We saw some 61 additional rail services provided over an above the timetable for yesterday, that was part of the special event, it demonstrated that there was the capacity to do that on what is a particular high frequency, high patronage event," he said. "It was still a high patronage event, no question." Acting Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the drop in people attending New Year's Eve celebrations at South Bank showed there was a crisis of confidence in the train system. "Last night's train services were a matter of good luck rather than good management," she said. But Mr Hinchliffe rejected the assertion.

"No, those figures are about people attending a major event," Mr Hinchliffe said. "That was not to do with the public transport system." Mr Hinchliffe said due to New Year's Eve being on a weekend, many people may have taken extended holidays outside of Brisbane. "Some people could take three days annual leave and effectively get a nine day holiday, it means there were probably a lot less people in Brisbane, so there's a whole lot of factors that might have influenced the attendance of people at those events - that's not for me to comment on," he said. Large crowds are seen at South Bank Station on New Year's Eve as people catch trains to the celebrations. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Mr Hinchliffe tweeted updates on the status of rail services overnight and on New Year's Day, and defended attending a basketball game. At 9.47pm, Mr Hinchliffe tweeted a photo from the train ride home, celebrating the Bullets win and thanking Queensland Rail for taking him home. LNP MPs Deb Frecklington and John-Paul Langbroek criticised Mr Hinchliffe for watching the Brisbane Bullets at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday night. "How are the trains @StirlHinchliffe? How are you getting home? #qldpol", Ms Frecklington tweeted, with a photo showing Mr Hinchliffe at the game. Mr Hinchliffe faced criticism in October for heading to watch the GC600 rather than attending a Queensland Rail board meeting called to discuss cancellations - instead phoning in - but the minister rejected the calls at the time, saying he was on official Commonwealth Games business.

Mr Hinchliffe fought back on social media overnight, telling Ms Frecklington: "Travelled to BCEC and home on the train thanks. A very smooth, professional and punctual service from @QueenslandRail." "Briefings on way in & out. Experienced the service other visitors to Southbank enjoyed," Mr Hinchliffe tweeted. At 11.11pm, Mr Hinchliffe said briefings from QR and TransLink indicated early New Year's Eve services were all running smoothly, with all platforms cleared and services set for after midnight.

Early on New Year's Day, Mr Hinchliffe said services ran smoothly and moved thousands of people home safely. Ms Frecklington said Mr Hinchliffe should have been on the platforms or in the control centre instead of at the basketball. "The minister had one job to do last night and that was to show leadership, he should give some confidence to the train travellers of Queensland," Ms Frecklington said. "For the partygoers who were able to get home on the trains, that was good news, however it is incredibly to see the priorities of this government when they know their train system is in crisis, that they chose to send along a minister to the basketball."

At a media conference on Sunday, Mr Hinchliffe said it was no secret that he was attending a Bullets game on New Year's Eve, which he travelled to and from via train. "I thought that was very important, getting a customer experience of what was going on while also availing myself of first-hand briefings," he said. "I attended a briefing here at South Brisbane station which involved not only the Queensland Rail, TransLink staff, but Queensland Police Service staff, briefing around preparations for the lead-up to the 8.30 fireworks." Mr Hinchliffe said he was receiving briefings during the Bullets game but also had a briefing before travelling home. "I actually told the world about where I had been and celebrating the Bullets win, in a tweet on my way home on the train at quarter to 10," he said.

"It took an hour later before the LNP decided to try and throw some gotcha moment with a picture of me at the basketball. It was not a big surprise, I'd been seen by many people earlier in the day wearing my Bullets shirt." Mr Hinchliffe said there would be an "era of change and reform" in 2017 for Queensland Rail, based on the recommendations of the Philip Strachan inquiry. "We've seen a whole lot of great achievements in 2016 in the public transport space but that's been soured terribly by the fact of performance on some key occasions in relation to our Citytrain network," he said. "I'm bitterly disappointed by that but I'm very much focused on how we move forward." There was a brief delay on the Ferny Grove line early in the night caused by a woman who had reportedly had too much to drink and lay down on the tracks.

She was removed by police, causing around 20 minutes delay. Mr Hinchliffe said there was one service that was cancelled due to a door failure on the rear carriages, which was replaced by an extra service. Stay informed. Like the Brisbane Times Facebook page.