A protest against delays to the East West Rail passenger service is planned to reach Oxford in June, as anger grows along the route among campaigners who call the project a billion-pound white elephant.

This event will be the latest in a series organised by the East West Rail Action Group, a newly established alliance of more than 600 local residents who are pushing for passenger rail services to begin without further hold-ups.

A parliamentary petition on the issue has already collected over 2,500 signatures.

The line connecting Oxford and Milton Keynes had been expected to begin running in December of the prior year, but a dispute between Chiltern Railways and the unions over train guards has caused setbacks.

Campaigners insist it is completely unacceptable to wait until Chiltern’s operating contract finishes in September and then credit the service’s launch to nationalisation.

The alliance discovered the December opening had been cancelled only after a statement on Chiltern’s website was quietly deleted.

Many residents from settlements along the route gathered in protest outside Bletchley Station on Saturday, April 25. Now they are making ready to take their campaign to Oxford.

At the protest, co-founder Shane Barry said the government described this as a £1bn investment, but for those of us living near these tracks, it is simply a £1bn white elephant.

Co-founder Diana Blamires, who moved to Winslow to allow her husband’s train commute to London, called the postponement infuriating and said residents along the corridor will not be dismissed as simpletons.

She noted that daily routines are being severely affected, with buyers of new homes along the route who had depended on the promised service now forced to catch two or three early-morning buses, or to endure busy peak-time roads and costly parking in Oxford.

The alliance is urging government ministers to finally resolve the long-running dispute over how many guards are needed on trains.

Ms Blamires said the protests serve to show that a campaigning organisation exists, along with a petition, which publicly demonstrates the anger felt by local communities. She added that the government appears unconcerned about the disruption affecting everyday people and shows no urgency about opening the line. She explained that the goal is to make clear that significant public anger exists and that people will not be ignored.

The exact date for the Oxford protest remains under discussion, though organisers have confirmed it will be peaceful, will not disrupt station operations and will aim to raise awareness of the campaign and petition.

Should progress towards an opening date remain absent, they warn that further protests will follow.