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Wednesday 1 Dec 2010

RAILWAY OPEN IN NOTTS DESPITE SNOW AND THEFT

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Rail lines around Nottingham are open this morning, despite the theft of essential cables overnight and the poor weather conditions.

Rail maintenance teams who were out through the night keeping the railway open had their work made twice as difficult when thieves stole cable at Mansfield Junction around 11pm last night – affecting all trains out of Nottingham.

Around 100m of 48 core cable was stolen.  Despite the weather conditions making roads conditions dangerous and difficult which delayed the delivery of replacement cable to site, teams managed to replace and fully test the cable by shortly after 6am this morning.

Martin Frobisher, route infrastructure maintenance director for Network Rail, said: “This is just one example of the superb effort being put in by every one of our people to keep the railway running.  Cable theft is a constant drain on our resources and, when added to the winter weather we are experiencing, makes our job incredibly difficult.  There would have been massive disruption to services had this fix not been completed overnight.”

Network Rail, in partnership with the charity Crimestoppers, is offering a reward of up to £1,000 for information which leads to the conviction of cable thieves.

Detective Sergeant Granville Sellers, of British Transport Police’s dedicated cable squad Operation Drum, said: “Cable theft is a serious issue for BTP and we will be stepping up our patrols to deter prospective thieves.

“The theft of cable has a direct impact on the everyday lives of the traveling public; it really is an attack on the community. The act of stealing cable is also an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network, especially in such bitter weather conditions.”

“When caught, cable thieves can expect BTP to do everything in its power to put them before the courts and seek the strictest possible sanctions.”