Chiltern Railways staff strike in dispute over safety
Train managers walk out over driver-only operation concerns
Train managers at a railway operator are to stage the first of two 24-hour strikes today in a dispute over safety.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Chiltern Railways will walk out again on October 17 if the row is not resolved.
Chiltern said the vast majority of its services will not be affected by the strike.
The union said the company had refused to provide guarantees over the safety critical role of the second person on board proposed East West Rail services.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said the driver-only operation proposed on East West represented a “significant risk” to safety and the current train manager roles at Chiltern.
“RMT members have voted overwhelmingly to take a principled stand against the watering down of safety on the rail network,” he said.
“It is time that Chiltern management took our members’ concerns seriously.”
Chiltern said more than 93% of its services will run on both Saturdays, and the normal number of trains will run into and out of London Marylebone.
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.
“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.”