The RMT has staged a demonstration outside Marylebone station in London this morning, on the first full day of the renationalisation of Chiltern Railways.

The operator was transferred to state ownership at 02.00 yesterday, making it the sixth former franchise to be taken over, as the government continues to prepare for Great British Railways.

Chiltern had been named as the operator of East West Rail, but although the restored section between Bicester and Bletchley has been approved for traffic for almost two years, only specials, charters and freight trains have used it.

The RMT is opposing driver-only operation on the line, and the union’s members are currently being balloted for a strike as part of its campaign.

The union’s general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the driver-only operation proposed on East-West Rail represented a ‘significant risk to safety’ and also the status of the current train managers at Chiltern.

He said: ‘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.’

The Government says the renationalisation of Chiltern Railways offers ‘a fresh opportunity to deliver East West Rail and its benefits for passengers’, but has not explained how this might be achieved.

Chiltern has previously said: ‘We are working with the Department for Transport, trade unions and other industry partners to deliver the first stage of East West Rail for customers and businesses.

‘As well as creating nearly 100 new permanent jobs at Chiltern, this new service will deliver immense benefits across the region, so we are eager to ensure that these benefits are realised for the community as soon as possible.’ 

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