Hundreds of railway staff at a train company are to be balloted for strikes in a row over onboard catering facilities, it was announced today.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union said more than 400 catering staff and guards at Arriva CrossCountry will vote over the next few weeks after accusing the company of failing to retain shops and buffets on trains as they are refurbished.

The firm links Oxford and Banbury with the South coast, Midlands and the north of England.

The union also claimed that catering services were being cut on trains to Cornwall and north of Edinburgh.

The union's general secretary Bob Crow said: "Refurbishment of trains should be an opportunity to improve onboard services and safety, but Arriva is using it to strip essential catering facilities from long-distance cross-country trains.

"The company has told us flatly there will be no buffets on refurbished high-speed trains.

"For our members, it adds up to inferior and less safe working conditions and for passengers it is a straightforward attack on their services."

The result of the ballot will be known next month.