Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg has doubled down on his criticism of unions for Brisbane’s ongoing rail chaos, as peak-hour commuters face 30-minute waits between services.

Travellers who waited months for the reopening of Shorncliffe station this week will now face 30-minute breaks between services, which Mr Mickelberg says is due to union action causing delays.

Mr Mickelberg said on Sunday he welcomed the reopening of the historic station after refurbishment, but fired a missive at the unions over train crowding and wait times.

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“The only reason Queenslanders continue to face more crowded trains and a reduced timetable is because some unions continue to take protected industrial action,” he said.

“The sooner unions drop their PIA, and strike a deal with QR (Queensland Rail), the sooner we’ll be able to start the process of returning a full timetable.”

The Shorncliffe station was closed for accessibility upgrades two months before QR started negotiating six new employment agreements with multiple unions. In that period, QR has blown out its maintenance timetable partly as a result of industrial action taken by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, Electrical Trades Union and Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

The RTBU is understood to be closest to a deal with QR, and is now undertaking less disruptive action, while the AMWU’s ongoing action is affecting maintenance.

Only half of the fleet maintained by QR is currently available, forcing the government-owned body to run three-car services instead of the standard six, and cut down on train frequency during peak hour.

QR blames industrial action for the shortfall, but has also been criticised by the FWC during negotiations for making some protected action more impactful to commuters than it needed to be.

Multiple attempts to reach the AMWU for clarity on its position since late last week were unsuccessful, as delegates attended Labor’s national conference agitating for items in its published “blueprint for action” which included pushing for an unrestricted right to strike, citing a “labyrinth of red tape” hampering unions.

“A true right to strike is our most powerful weapon, and we will campaign for the removal of all legislation that restricts our ability to defend ourselves from the greed and violence of private capital”, the blueprint states.

Shorncliffe is not the only station now running half-hour services during peak hour, with commuters on the Doomben to Eagle Junction, Rosewood to Ipswich, and Sunshine Coast between Nambour and Caboolture still facing too few trains.

Commuters on the Shorncliffe line were previously travelling to Sandgate to use the service.

The Shorncliffe line will shut on the weekends of August 1-2, 22-23 and 29-30 for works on Queensland Rail’s new signalling system.

During the closures, trains will not run between Northgate and Shorncliffe stations.