Queensland Rail is advertising for new drivers - but they must have prior experience.
Online ads appeared at the weekend, asking for applications for new train drivers, but it called for people who had worked at QR as a train driver in the past to rejoin the company.
It comes despite Phillip Strachan's report recommending recruitment be opened up externally and to people with no experience.
Mr Strachan, now the chair of QR, was commissioned to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into failings at QR, which became apparent after the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line, despite a shortage of train crew.
It led to months of cancellations and timetable changes.
Transport Minister Jackie Trad insisted the government was committed to implementing all 36 recommendations from Mr Strachan's report.
"The ads that appeared on the weekend were the first start in our advertising campaign to attract more drivers and more staff to Queensland Rail so that we can fix Queensland Rail," Ms Trad said.
"We know that it's much easier to train former drivers, that's why we started there where it was easiest to attract former employees of Queensland Rail, to get them in and get them onto the system."
When questioned over why QR could not also recruit people with no experience at the same time, Ms Trad said the government needed to make sure it had enough tutor drivers.
"We need to make sure there is a systematic and logical sequence to the recruitment and the training program," she said.
Announcing the government had boosted the size of the driver and guard training intake, Ms Trad said 25 trainee drivers and 40 trainee guards started on Monday.
Ms Trad said the aim was to accelerate the training time from 18 months to nine months.
But she said the cohort starting on Monday would require 14 weeks training for the guards and 12 months for the train drivers.
"I'm concerned that we ensure that every trainee driver is trained appropriately," she said.
"We have got safety considerations, there's operational considerations. I don't want to rush training at the expense of safety and proper operational knowledge."
Ms Trad said she was "excited about the challenge" of fixing the QR mess, after taking over the Transport portfolio from former minister Stirling Hinchliffe.
But she will not inherit Mr Hinchliffe's previous responsibilities for Uber and taxi reforms.
"The Premier has made clear that she wants me 100 per cent focused on Queensland Rail and getting the timetable right," Ms Trad said.
"Minister Mark Bailey, the Main Roads Minister, will be taking responsibility for personal transportation services, like Uber and taxis, and he'll also be taking responsibility for tow trucks and heavy vehicles."
Mr Strachan attended his first board meeting on Friday as the new QR chair and said it was important to determine which recommendations would be implemented first.
"We can't do them all at once, we need to sequence and prioritise," he said.
Opposition Transport spokesman Andrew Powell said several people had contacted his office after finding out they were not able to apply for a job because of a lack of driver experience at QR.
"If it was calling for train drivers with previous experience in train driving, that would be fine."
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