Crackdown on theft of rail metal

 10 May 2011 Last updated at 06:00 GMT Police and rail authorities step up the pressure on rail metal thieves who cost the network ￡1m a year in Wales.

Network Rail and police are stepping up their efforts to catch rail metal thieves in Wales, claiming they are costing the railways around ￡1m a year.

The number of cable thefts on the Wales and the Marches network tripled from 28 in 2009/10 to 84 in 2010/11.

Some 600 hours of train delays in the region are attributed to the loss of cables controlling signals and points.

Mark Langman, route director for Network Rail, said they were serious criminal acts and had to stop.

"Every day passengers and essential freight deliveries upon which our economy relies on are being delayed by thieves looking to make a quick buck at our expense," he said.

Metal theft has been identified as a growing problem in Wales in recent years, with brass band instruments, manhole covers and public sculptures being targeted along with railway lines.

Network Rail believes that thieves are targeting its cables because of the rising value of high-quality copper.

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Such attacks on our critical infrastructure are unacceptable”

End Quote Assistant Chief Constable Alan Pacey British Transport Police British Transport Police has set up a dedicated task force with increased patrols, working in partnership with the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Network Rail and other interested bodies.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Pacey said: "We are working to tackle the issue and in the past few months have seen significant jail sentences handed down to cable thieves put before the courts.

"We are determined to send a clear message that such attacks on our critical infrastructure are unacceptable and the police and rail industry are working together to tackle the problem."

Protection for railway sites has been increased, including helicopter surveillance, CCTV, forensic marking and alarms.

A new type of cable has also been introduced which is said to be easier to identify and harder to steal.

'Serious injury'

Gary Cooper, head of operations at the Association of Train Operating Companies, said the thefts were resulting in major disruption of services.

"Operators and the industry as a whole are determined to crack down on the thieves, whose actions lead to extra work for staff and cost millions of pounds, money which could otherwise be invested in improving services for passengers.

"The thieves are also putting themselves at risk of serious injury."

Anyone with any information about cable theft is urged to contact British Transport Police or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously.

Railways reveal cable theft cost

。 9 May 2011 Last updated at 19:03 ET  By Richard Scott Transport correspondent, BBC News Watch: Network Rail's Steven Haulston shows Richard Scott some of the devices used to catch cable thieves

Train passengers were delayed by 6,088 hours over the last year because of cable theft, Network Rail has said.

The rail infrastructure body said the number of theft incidents in the 2010-11 financial year jumped by 52% to 995.

Thieves steal the cable to sell on to unscrupulous scrap yards, with the number of thefts strongly linked to the price of copper.

Network Rail said it had cost it ￡16.5m to replace stolen cable and compensate train operators for lost service.

The industry is combating the criminals with real-time motion-sensitive cameras hidden in the rail infrastructure.

The cables are used to control infrastructure such as signals and points, so if they are damaged the trains often cannot run.

'Seriously injured'

The Association of Train Operating Companies says one franchise, Northern, had 1,435 trains cancelled last year because of theft, as well as 983 hours of delays for passengers.

"We have thousands of kilometres of track, we can't protect every single kilometer," said Dyan Crowther, director of operational services at Network Rail.

"We do a lot of analysis to identify hot spot locations, we know a lot about thieves, their profiles, what they do.

"So we try to put various tactical measures in various locations to try to apprehend them and prevent cable theft."

Watch: Assistant Chief Constable Alan Pacey from British Transport Police on the dangers of stealing cable

Some of those tactical measures to both deter and catch thieves are high-tech.

Small motion-activated cameras are being hidden amongst the stones, or ballast, along the tracks as well as in pipes or sleepers.

The cameras send the photos as soon as they're taken to a control centre, where they can then be forwarded to police on the ground, who can use the photos to identify the criminals.

The police say that many of the thefts are to fund drug or alcohol habits, rather than by organised crime.

But as the price of copper in particular rises, so more criminals get in on the act.

It's not that lucrative however. A scrapyard might pay around ￡5000 a tonne for copper. Depending on the cable, a thief might need hundreds of metres just to get a tonne of the metal.

The British Transport Police says the issue is their second highest priority, after terrorism.

And Alan Pacey, Assistant Chief Constable of British Transport Police warns people shouldn't risk it: "Firstly if you're thinking of it you may well end up seriously injured or killed.

"Secondly it isn't actually that profitable to you as an individual. And thirdly you're very likely these days to get caught and face pretty harsh sentences in the courts."

Because of the wide-ranging effects of cable theft, the courts often hand out sentences of several years.

And the police are also raising awareness of the problem with scrapyards.

They're trying to prevent rogue operators from having an 'ask no questions' approach to where the scrap has come from.

Railways reveal cable theft cost

。 9 May 2011 Last updated at 19:03 ET  By Richard Scott Transport correspondent, BBC News Watch: Network Rail's Steven Haulston shows Richard Scott some of the devices used to catch cable thieves

Train passengers were delayed by 6,088 hours over the last year because of cable theft, Network Rail has said.

The rail infrastructure body said the number of theft incidents in the 2010-11 financial year jumped by 52% to 995.

Thieves steal the cable to sell on to unscrupulous scrap yards, with the number of thefts strongly linked to the price of copper.

Network Rail said it had cost it ￡16.5m to replace stolen cable and compensate train operators for lost service.

The industry is combating the criminals with real-time motion-sensitive cameras hidden in the rail infrastructure.

The cables are used to control infrastructure such as signals and points, so if they are damaged the trains often cannot run.

'Seriously injured'

The Association of Train Operating Companies says one franchise, Northern, had 1,435 trains cancelled last year because of theft, as well as 983 hours of delays for passengers.

"We have thousands of kilometres of track, we can't protect every single kilometer," said Dyan Crowther, director of operational services at Network Rail.

"We do a lot of analysis to identify hot spot locations, we know a lot about thieves, their profiles, what they do.

"So we try to put various tactical measures in various locations to try to apprehend them and prevent cable theft."

Watch: Assistant Chief Constable Alan Pacey from British Transport Police on the dangers of stealing cable

Some of those tactical measures to both deter and catch thieves are high-tech.

Small motion-activated cameras are being hidden amongst the stones, or ballast, along the tracks as well as in pipes or sleepers.

The cameras send the photos as soon as they're taken to a control centre, where they can then be forwarded to police on the ground, who can use the photos to identify the criminals.

The police say that many of the thefts are to fund drug or alcohol habits, rather than by organised crime.

But as the price of copper in particular rises, so more criminals get in on the act.

It's not that lucrative however. A scrapyard might pay around ￡5000 a tonne for copper. Depending on the cable, a thief might need hundreds of metres just to get a tonne of the metal.

The British Transport Police says the issue is their second highest priority, after terrorism.

And Alan Pacey, Assistant Chief Constable of British Transport Police warns people shouldn't risk it: "Firstly if you're thinking of it you may well end up seriously injured or killed.

"Secondly it isn't actually that profitable to you as an individual. And thirdly you're very likely these days to get caught and face pretty harsh sentences in the courts."

Because of the wide-ranging effects of cable theft, the courts often hand out sentences of several years.

And the police are also raising awareness of the problem with scrapyards.

They're trying to prevent rogue operators from having an 'ask no questions' approach to where the scrap has come from.