Southeast Queensland commuters angry as they're squeeze on smaller trains only to be delayed by timetable 'teething problems' Commuters are being squeezed into trains after new timetables saw some six-car services reduced to just three cars. This picture shows a Ferny Grove line service departing Central station on Monday evening. Picture: Stephen Knight Source: Supplied A ROCKY start to a new train timetable has been dismissed as merely teething problems by Queensland Rail - despite a wave of social media abuse from frustrated commuters. The addition of more than 200 new services to the network resulted in widespread delays on Monday and Tuesday when the Gold Coast, Beenleigh and Cleveland lines were the worst affected. On the busy Gold Coast line, almost two-thirds (61.54 per cent) of peak-time services ran late on Monday. Nearly half (48.28 per cent) were late on the Beenleigh line, and one in four were behind schedule in peak periods on the Cleveland line. Picture: Stephen Knight Adding to commuters' frustrations was the replacement of six-car trains with three-car services at key times, resulting in many people being left to wait on the platform. The issue was blamed on a bridge strike near Morayfield Monday afternoon that had a domino effect throughout the network. A Queensland Rail spokeswoman conceded two morning peak services on the Ferny Grove line would ­remain three-car services for the foreseeable future. "We are closely monitoring customer loadings on all trains as we roll out the new schedule," said the spokeswoman. "Loadings on the vast majority of trains are comfortable, with some customers reporting to us that they are getting a seat for the first time," she said, saying the situation was being monitored. Ferny Grove line commuter Stephen Knight said it was unfair to expect people to catch an earlier or later train, because their usual service had been reduced from a six to three-car train. If it's this bad now, how much worse will it be when school and university resumes? Mr Knight said. Delays and congestion on the first day of the new timetable resulted in 41 complaints to Queensland Rail, and 17 "compliments, inquiries and comments," said the spokeswoman. "We will continue to closely monitor the timetable and respond to feedback from customers but we are confident that the changes we've made best use our current infrastructure and resources to maximise benefits for our customers," she said. Robert Dow from public transport advocacy group Back on Track said a "settling in" period was to be expected for the new timetable and he urged commuters to give it a chance. "Passengers will have to make some adjustments to their own routine but overall we think it's a pretty good improvement even though the network is now running at maximum capability," said Mr Dow. They were a bit unlucky on Monday with the level crossing incident and the signals problems on the Cleveland line yesterday morning. It will take a few days to get things finetuned.