THEFT of railway cables caused over 10,000 minutes of delays to rail passengers across Wales and Borders in 2017 - a 240% increase on the previous year according to British Transport Police.

Officers have increased patrols near railways and Network Rail also protects cable with forensic marking agents, making it easier to track down criminals and secure prosecutions.

However, with over 1,500 miles of railway in Wales and Borders, when thieves do steal cable it has a huge impact on passengers and the rail industry is appealing to members of the public to contact British Transport Police if they notice anything suspicious on or near the railway.

Bill Kelly, chief operating officer for Network Rail in Wales and Borders, said, ‘Cable theft is not a victimless crime; train delays and cancellations directly affect people going about their daily lives.

‘When a live cable is cut, it can cause a power failure on the network, turning all signals powered by the damaged cable to red and bringing trains to a standstill. This makes it safe for passengers and teams on the track investigating the problem, but can lead to lengthy, frustrating delays while engineers repair or replace the cable.

‘One theft, which took place on a particularly busy part of the rail network in Wales and Borders last year, affected 387 train services and caused a combined total of 4,532 minutes of delay.

‘Not to mention the fact that trespassing on the railway is extremely dangerous and cable thieves risk serious injury or death.’

Sergeant Ben Randall-Webb, from the Proactive CID team in the British Transport Police, said, ‘Despite the obvious danger and relative lack of reward, people are still willing to gamble with their lives for the sake of a few metres of cable. However, the irony is that railway cable has no real value outside the railway industry.’