Media centre

Monday 19 Apr 2010

THIEVES DELAY NORTH EAST TRAINS BY 196 HOURS

Region & Route:

Thieves targeting railway cable in the north east have caused 196 hours of delay to services in the past year, costing the industry more than £160,000 in compensation costs alone. Today Network Rail called for communities to support them in stopping the thieves and preventing further disruption.

Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: “The theft of cable is a constant drain on our resources and cause of considerable disruption to rail services.  This is not acceptable.  We are already carrying out considerable work to deter thieves and to respond to incidents quickly in order to minimise delay. Today I am calling on local people to act as our eyes and ears and to report suspicious activities to Crimestoppers – they could receive up to £1,000 reward.”

“Network Rail has traced a direct link between the price of copper and the number of cable crimes committed.  We will continue to explore what more we can do with police, the wider community and other organisations affected by metal crime to remove the market for illegally obtained scrap metal.”

Working with BTP Network Rail has invested in new types of surveillance equipment and measures to make the cable more difficult to steal such as CCTV, trembler devices that set off an alarm when cables are disturbed and burying cable.

Detective Inspector Brian Buddo from British Transport Police said, “After the threat of terrorism, the theft of cable still remains one of BTP’s biggest challenges. We have made some real inroads in driving down cable crime throughout the north east, and have witnessed a 28% reduction in the number of offences across the area. This has been achieved through a partnership approach to tackling the issues, proactive policing and great work in arresting and bringing cable thieves to justice.

“Although this reduction is great news it is making us more determined and committed to reducing the number of crimes, and tracking down the criminals who target the railway by constantly looking for ways to stay one step ahead. We will not become complacent and we are committed to reducing offences further and locking up those responsible”,

As soon as a cable is cut, trains are safely brought to a halt to protect passengers and our people, but that can result in significant delays and disruption. The cost of repairs, disruption and manpower is money lost to the industry that could be better spent on improvements.

Steve Butcher, area director, Northern Rail, added:  “Cable theft is one of the single biggest cause of delay to our services resulting in disruption and inconvenience to thousands of customers. We welcome any information anyone can give to help catch the offenders and help eliminate this problem.”