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Monday 29 Nov 2010

RAIL BOSSES ASK LINCOLN: HELP US KEEP YOUR RAILWAY RUNNING

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Thieves targeting the railway around Lincolnshire have delayed passengers by the equivalent of 128 hours since April this year.

Cables which support essential signalling and operational systems are being targeted by thieves for their scrap value.  In the Lincoln area there have been 23 thefts which have caused delay since April 2010, compared with just six incidents in the whole financial year 2009/10.

Today rail bosses joined forces with police to explain the extent of the problem and ask for the public’s help.

Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: “Metal thieves targeting the railway are causing misery to thousands of passengers and freight users in Lincolnshire every year.  They are costing the industry, and the wider economy, millions of pounds and that figure is rising.  In the past eight months passengers around Lincolnshire have been delayed for more than 120 hours by the actions of thieves – that is clearly unacceptable.

"We are doing everything we can to deter such thefts and protect our vital railway.  Working in partnership with the police, more and more culprits and scrap metal dealers are being caught, and we’re pushing hard to make sure they face the toughest possible sentences. I would also ask anyone with any information to report their suspicions to Crimestoppers – they could receive a reward of up to £1,000.”

The railway is designed to fail safe – resulting in all trains coming to a halt whenever a theft occurs.  This protects passengers but leads to significant delays and inconvenience.  In Lincoln since April 2010 trains have been delayed more than 7,699 minutes and compensation costs for the same period stand at more than £43,000.

A number of measures to help prevent thefts have been introduced in Lincoln, including the use of high-resolution CCTV, trembler alarms and using glue and foam to make it harder to remove the cables from their route along the railway.

Nigel Carlisle, East Midlands Trains’ route manager for Lincolnshire, said:  “We fully support Network Rail and the British Transport Police in their efforts to catch and discourage thieves targeting the railway.

“We are committed to running a safe and reliable railway and the actions of these thieves have caused inconvenience to thousands of passengers in Lincolnshire over the past few months.

“We would appeal to anybody with information to pass it on to Crimestoppers immediately, so that those responsible can be held accountable for their actions and we can protect the future reliability of our railway.”

Since April 2010 BTP has recorded 67 cable-related crimes in the Lincoln area – including ones which may not have directly affected rail services - and made 20 arrests.

Detective Inspector Michael Jackson heads up British Transport Police’s dedicated cable squad, he said, “We are utilising a wide range of tactics to tackle metal and cable theft across the Lincoln area.  We will continue to carry out high profile patrols at known areas of cable theft activity across the area, as well as at scrap yards, which are key in tracking stolen cable.

 “There is a common assumption that cable theft is a victimless crime, with the only effects being felt by the railway industry. This is not the case.  In addition to costing the industry, and the tax payer millions of pounds each year, these delays also have a considerable impact on the lives of people who rely on the railway to go about their business.

“It’s your railway – help us keep services running reliably by reporting anyone you see acting suspiciously or let us  know of any information you have about people committing these crimes.”

“BTP will continue to seek methods of detecting and preventing cable theft and will endeavour to secure prosecutions on every occasion.”