QR staff go off the rails

AN unprecedented seven Queensland Rail workers have been sacked in just one month after coming to work drunk or high on drugs.

The troubled operator has ramped up its hard-line approach to substance use in recent months that saw it record a peak in positive tests in April after a series of targeted stings.

One operation homed in on a regional work group suspected of using that led to the sacking of three people – one who tested positive for cannabis and alcohol and two others who had been drinking.

Two guards, a station customer service attendance and another regional track worker were also netted in April. QR’s chief executive Nick Easy said the results were “unacceptable”.