Railway cable thefts hitting 100s of services
THE theft of railway cables caused more than 10,000 minutes of delays to passengers in Wales last year, it has been revealed.
Railway cable thefts across Wales and Borders’ 1,500 miles of railway rose by 240% last year to reach a five-year high in 2017.
In one case, a stolen cable affected 387 train services and led to 4,532 minutes of delay after being taken from a busy Welsh rail network.
When a live cable is cut, it can cause a power failure on the network, turning all signals to red and bringing trains to a standstill.
British Transport Police (BTP) officers have increased patrols near the railway, while Network Rail also protects cable with forensic marking agents.
Bill Kelly, chief operating officer for Network Rail in Wales and Borders, said: “Cable theft is not a victimless crime – far from it. Train delays and cancellations directly affect people going about their daily lives.
“We work closely with our partners Arriva Trains Wales to minimise disruption when incidents do occur, but crimes like cable theft cause delays to passengers at an incredible cost to the rail network.
“We continually look for ways to protect the network from thieves, working with BTP to prosecute anyone caught carrying out metal thefts.”
Sergeant Ben Randall- Webb, from the Proactive CID team at BTP, said: “Any attempt to steal cable is also incredibly dangerous, and anyone seeking to do so risks serious injury – or even death – through electrocution.
“Technological and forensic advances are making life more and more difficult for thieves and are increasing the opportunities for us to detect criminals. Offences linked to theft of metal on the railway can attract a penalty of up to life imprisonment, so the implications are severe.
“Despite the danger and relative lack of reward, people are still willing to gamble with their lives for the sake of a few metres of cable.
“However, the irony is that railway cable has no real value outside the railway industry, yet the cost to replace it is extremely high.
“In fact, thieves will struggle to get any money at all, as scrap metal dealers are highly unlikely to accept any cable.”
He said that members of the public can be the “eyes and ears on the network”, and urged commuters and regular passengers to report any suspicious activity.
Bethan Jelfs, customer services director for Arriva Trains Wales, said: “We are committed to working closely with our partners in Network Rail and the BTP to reduce these crimes and get back up and running again as quickly as possible if and when it does occur.”
Anyone with information about cable theft, can contact BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016.