However, Transport Minister Mark Bailey's failure on Friday to explain whether this rostering deadline would be met has renewed Opposition calls for him to be sacked.

“If the minister was confident in that deadline, why wouldn’t he come out and say that to the media today?” Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander said on Friday.

"He should do more than explain himself, he should resign.

"He is presiding over an absolute debacle over Queensland Rail. Every day the issue gets worse.

"It is now two years after the original 'rail fail' and there is no indication there is going to be any improvement in the near future.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk really needs to show some leadership and sack Minister Mark Bailey.”

Traditionally, the new timetable comes into place in late January to replace the lower-frequency Christmas holidays train roster.

Queensland’s Rail’s Fixing the Trains July 2018 report says “Master Roster 2” should be in place “no later than February 2019”.

The July 2018 report says: “Reached agreement with industrial partners to implement Master Roster 2, including associated meal breaks, by no later than February 2019.”

It then shows the next steps as: “Develop implementation plan for Master Roster 2.”

The same report also says all driver and guard training will be finished by the end of 2018.

A Palaszczuk government spokesman on Friday said the reference to a "master roster" was for train crews, which came before the train timetables were set.

“The master roster for crew is different to timetabled services," the spokesman said.

"When the master roster and fatigue management work is completed — and has been assured as sustainable by February 2019 — we expect we will be able to incrementally introduce timetable improvements for our customers."

The shortfall of train drivers forced rolling cancellations of trains in October 2016 and, despite improvements, there are still 470 fewer train services.

Mr Bailey was asked several times in Cairns on Friday when Queensland Rail's new timetable would be in place.

He said all efforts possible were being made and the timetable would be in place as soon as possible.

Mr Bailey said 101 new train drivers had been trained while 95 drivers were being trained, “for a net gain of 50 drivers”.

“You can see that the sustainability of the system is improving,” Mr Bailey said.

However, he did not say when the new CityTrain timetable would be in place and simply said “as soon as possible” when asked again on the ABC.

Rail lobby group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said the government's failure to commit to the February 2019 rostering deadline "was a really big problem".

"We know that they have these deadlines, but they never commit," he said.

Mr Bailey declined several times to explain why the three QR board members — including selected chairman and former Rio Tinto chief executive Phillip Strachan — had resigned on Thursday afternoon.

Last Friday, the QR Board approved bonuses totalling $3.6 million to 384 of QR’s senior managers, but Mr Bailey and deputy premier Jackie Trad ruled the QR bonuses out of line on Tuesday.

"I think the board has made a decision which is a serious error of judgement and it's been rectified immediately by this government," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"I think it's an appalling decision, to be clear, and we've acted straightaway to reverse it."

Mr Mander said Queensland taxpayers deserved to know why the three senior board members resigned in one afternoon.

“This government always talks about transparency and openness, and the Queensland taxpayers deserve to know why the chairman of the board and two other board members have resigned.”

Mr Bailey on Friday morning said he could not answer for Mr Strachan.

"That is a matter for Mr Strachan. I do not presume to speak for Mr Strachan," he said.

Meanwhile, members of Queensland’s main public transport lobby group, Rail Back on Track, said the QR Board should include a rail consumer’s voice to give more direct Queensland railways experience.

At the moment, two board members have extensive Queensland Rail experience.

Spokesman Robert Dow said “a rail user's perspective” is genuinely missing from the seven-person QR Board.

He said the previous board missed implications of the failure to train enough drivers leading to the "rail fail".

“There are people out there who are experienced public transport users who are commensurate with the necessary board level experience,” he said.

“The person could put a perspective into the board which we think the board has been missing.”

Mr Mander said there was merit in having a rail consumer's voice on the Queensland Rail board.

“In think there is a strong argument to have someone who represents consumer sentiments,” he said. “We have to have the best people, the most suitably qualified people in all board appointments.

“But especially this one, given the mess that QR is in at the moment.”