Railway workers are to stage two 24-hour strikes in a dispute over driver-only operation.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Chiltern Railways will walk out on October 10 and 17.
The union said its members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action against driver-only operation (DOO) planned for East West Rail services.
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RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said driver-only operation proposed on East-West represented 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.”
