Opening of new £7bn railway line could be delayed by strike action

The opening of a new £7 billion rail service between two major UK towns is set to be delayed thanks to strikes.

Staff on Chiltern Railways are set to take part in two 24-hour walkouts over plans to introduce driver-only operation.

Industrial action by Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members is scheduled for 10 and 17 October.

It follows a decisive vote by union members opposing driver-only operation (DOO) intended for the new East West Rail route, which will link Oxford to Milton Keynes.

The East West railway was due to open over a year ago, but has been delayed by additional works at Winslow station and a RMT dispute over drivers operating the train doors.

When works are complete, East West Rail will directly connect the two university cities of Oxford and Cambridge by train for the first time in decades. The planned route is hoped to be completed by the mid to late 2030s.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey warned that the proposal for East-West poses a "significant risk" to safety and the current train manager roles.

“The actions of Chiltern management to not take these concerns seriously is totally unacceptable.

“RMT will not accept the watering down of safety on the rail network,” he said.

Tony Baxter, interim managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: “We’re disappointed that RMT members have voted in favour of industrial action over how we intend to run services on the first stage of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

“Industrial action has been announced by the RMT on October 10 and 17. We expect to operate the vast majority of our services limiting the impact on customers. We will confirm timetables for these days shortly.

“Every East West Rail service will have two people on board — the driver, and a colleague looking after passengers: checking tickets, helping people who need assistance, and on hand to assist with any issues.

“We have run most of our trains with the driver in control of the doors for decades, safely and as approved by the independent rail regulator. It also means over 100 new permanent jobs at Chiltern, and no changes to the roles of existing colleagues.

“We remain committed to working with the RMT to resolve this, and urge them to work with us so passengers can start benefiting from this new railway as soon as possible.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Chiltern Railways has run most of its network for decades with the driver in full control of the doors, a model approved by the independent rail regulator.

“Chiltern Railways has run most of its network for decades with the driver in full control of the doors, a model approved by the independent rail regulator. Using this model for Chiltern’s services on East West Rail, with another member of staff on board to support passengers, will not change current Chiltern Train Manager’s roles, terms and conditions, or staffing levels – any suggestion otherwise is false.

“We are working with Chiltern on preparations for East West Rail services to begin and have already begun recruitment for onboard customer support staff.

“Whilst Chiltern expect the vast majority of their services to run in the event of strikes, we urge RMT to call off this action, work with us to get this railway open and realise its benefits for passengers.”