Cable thieves hit Metro, causing a day of disruption

METRO disruption lasted for the whole of yesterday after reckless thieves stole 300 metres of copper cable.

No trains were able to run between St James and North Shields Metro stations due to the cable theft, which happened in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Operator Nexus confirmed that services in the affected area would likely be suspended for the whole of the day and that a replacement bus service was running instead.

The theft happened between Byker and Chillingham Road Metro stations, damaging sensitive power supply equipment which is needed for trains to operate.

Nexus is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thieves.

Customer services director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said yesterday: “Today’s ongoing Metro service suspension between St James and North Shields was caused by cable theft.

“This offence took place in the early hours of Friday morning, causing major disruption for customers who need to use the Metro service.

“Our engineers are on site carrying repairs and replacing 300 metres of cable, which is vital so that Metro trains are able to operate.

“I urge anyone with any information to come forward. We are offering a £1,000 reward for information that leads to the thieves being caught.

“Cable theft causes a huge amount of disruption to our customers as it halts Metro services while we carry out repairs. Metro runs on high voltage power so anyone who attempts to cut through trackside cables risks being seriously injured or killed.”

Passengers were asked to use one of 10 replacement buses, the number 900, which were running between the affected stations while the repairs were carried out.