Metro cable
Reporter METRE after metre of vital cable has been recovered as police continue to investigate a vandal attack which brought the Metro to a standstill.
Thousands of commuters were left stranded on Monday when the network south of the Tyne was brought to a halt after an attempted cable theft in Gateshead.
Officers found 80-90m of cable with the copper stripped out on a football pitch next to Sanderson Villas, Gateshead, near the scene of the crime.
Police are appealing for anyone who was in this area, or who lives next to the Metro line, and may have seen or heard any suspicious activity from 2am onwards in the early hours of Monday.
Nexus engineers originally thought the source of the power outage was an overhead line failure, but discovered clear signs of malicious activity mid-morning.
Chris Carson, Metro services director, said Nexus would be taking the unusual step of offering a £1,000 cash incentive to help catch those responsible.
Huw Lewis, customer services director for Nexus, said: “Cable theft is very rare on Metro, and that’s partly because we worked hard with the police to tackle the problem and secure changes to the law since it was a major problem for Metro five years ago and that has paid off. “We must warn would-be thieves they are risking their lives by meddling with the high voltage cables which power Metro. “The police are already investigating, and will be using the extensive CCTV network in stations and around the streets in Gateshead, but we are also working on specific and targeted security operations, which we can’t share details of. “We have been replacing metal cabling with fibre optics as part of our £350m investment in Metro’s future. “That makes the railway much less of a target for thieves and that work will continue. “This attack was, unfortunately, one more problem for passengers. “Our investment in new trains, and in replacing overhead power lines in the next few years, will both help the wider picture and keep Metro reliable and convenient long into the future.” Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference 305 of 04/12/17.