RAIL companies through Oxfordshire have reacted to the news of a rail strike next week.

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members will hold a 24-hour strike from 5pm BST on June 4 and a 48-hour strike from 5pm on June 9.

A strike over Bank Holiday Monday was called off, but the union has today rejected a deal from Network Rail over staff pay.

Chiltern Railways director Thomas Ableman said: "We will immediately start working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail to work out what service we will be able to provide, and will update our customers as soon as we possibly can."

First Great Western spokesman James Davis said: "As we know the last strike was cancelled and we remain hopeful that Network Rail and the RMT will be able to reach an agreement and avoid any disruption to our customers.
"We will be talking to Network Rail about the specific impact this may have on First Great Western services.

“But, should the action go ahead, it is likely to have a significant impact on our ability to run our trains.

“We will publish plans as soon as possible to allow customers to make an informed decision about their journeys."