What could be done to reduce/prevent cable theft?

[Shrop]

.Network Rail Scotland have tweeted -
We expect overhead wire repairs at Beattock to be complete by approx. 21:30 this evening.

Our control team remain in close contact with @AvantiWestCoast, @TPExpressTrains and freight operators to keep them updated. We’re diverting freight services where we can.

Credit to Network Rail where its due, it seems the line was indeed re-opened in time for the first of the four Caledonian Sleepers to pass through, ie the Glasgow/Edinburgh southbound shortly before 2.00am, followed by the northbound Aberdeen/inverness/Fort William soon after.

But what about the ongoing problems with cable theft which are seemingly rife throughout much of the UK? Wellington (Shropshire) has had enough problems with flooding in the last couple of days, without being compounded by the selfish few who seek to make money for themselves which must be absolutely miniscule in comparison with the costs of the delays and repairs. Since this thread is for discussion about disruption, what do members think might be done to prevent this scourge?

Flooding and cable theft closes Shropshire railway line

Flooding in the Wellington area as well as signalling cable theft have left passengers facing disruption between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

www.railadvent.co.uk

Flooding in the Wellington area as well as signalling cable theft have left passengers facing disruption between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Track at Wellington station was left submerged by flood water. This has now subsided but with the cable stolen and repairs needed, disruption is likely to last throughout the day.

 

[baz962]

I would suggest not much. No crime is ever eradicated and with the railway covering the whole country and many parts out of sight/out of the way it's nigh on impossible. The BTP isn't the largest of forces and thin on the ground. Not much of the railway is 24/7 and thieves have quiet periods to get on with it. By the time anyone might see them and someone getting on site , they would be long gone.

 

[renegademaster]

Proballly would be more effective to find whoever is buying the cables

 

[HSTEd]

The primary method is likely to be to reduce the number of cables available to steal!

ETCS will remove the cables necessary to support lights-on-sticks signals. If we were to move to Level 2 Hybrid then most of the train detection equipment and associated cabling could go away, ECP brakes would eliminate the requirements for hotbox or similar detection equipment....
Engineering the theft out is likely our best option, rather than trying to maintain some sort of massive surveillance or control apparatus.

So long as the cost of melting cable into ingots using a propane torch is lower than you can get for selling it, you can't stop this.
Laundering metal is simply too easy.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

More fibre optic?

 

[Pigeon]

More fibre optic?

Indeed. Make all the endpoints locally-powered - using those solar/wind/battery units or whatever else is suitable - and don't transmit anything other than data. No need for any actual copper running alongside the tracks except the stuff with 25000 volts on it.

In the meantime, when copper cables are renewed use a special replacement cable with dichlorodiethylsulphide inside the sheath (suitable PPE being provided to railway staff).

 

[skyhigh]

More fibre optic?

The nitwits still cut it looking for copper. And even with fibre optic you still need power cables.

But what about the ongoing problems with cable theft which are seemingly rife throughout much of the UK?

It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. There was a period a few years back where it was unusual to go a day without an attack - I remember in one location the same cable was stolen three nights in a row...

Clamping down on dodgy scrap traders has had a big impact. As has burying/making the cable harder to access, but that causes issues in itself when the cable needs to be accessed for repair work.

Given the huge area the railway covers with thousands of access points and cable miles it's literally impossible to stop the theft entirely. But a lot of work has gone into reducing how much occurs.

 

[HSTEd]

The nitwits still cut it looking for copper. And even with fibre optic you still need power cables.

It'd probably be better to go to GSM-R for controlling trackside equipment.

As you say, if they see cable shapes they will cut them open.

As has burying/making the cable harder to access, but that causes issues in itself when the cable needs to be accessed for repair work.

Or when someone puts an electrification pile through it.....

 

[Backroom_boy]

But what about the ongoing problems with cable theft which are seemingly rife throughout much of the UK?

* Reduce amount of copper in installations (this is the main target metal)
* Introduce 'smartwater' tagging on all cabling (only worthwhile till it's melted down)
* Make it criminal offence to buy metal of unknown provenance
* Make it a priority crime for NCA alongside BTP (it's impacting national infrastructure)
* Hope the global copper price goes down

 

[HSTEd]

Is the railway still using copper in new cable or has it switched to aluminium?

 

[dcbwhaley]

It'd probably be better to go to GSM-R for controlling trackside equipment.

As you say, if they see cable shapes they will cut them open.


Or when someone puts an electrification pile through it.....

Put a high voltage core in the cable so that cutting it results in a severe electric shock

 

[HSTEd]

Put a high voltage core in the cable so that cutting it results in a severe electric shock

My understanding is that signalling power cables are already traditionally 650V! You can't really go higher without requiring high voltage certifications for everyone who works on them, which would put costs through the roof!

 

[duffield]

There should be a specific offence of "criminal damage to critical infrastructure" covering such things as cutting out "live" cables (railway, telecoms anything similar), with much heavier penalties than just stealing (say) as yet unused reels of cable, or plain criminal damage.

That would reflect the massive extra disruption and expense to the railway and the wider economy caused by stealing "live" cables. It *might* at least steer some thieves to concentrate on stealing unused cable instead of "live" cable, which while obviously not ideal, is so much less disruptive.

 

[skyhigh]

Put a high voltage core in the cable so that cutting it results in a severe electric shock

You think that would stop them? They already cut plenty of high voltage stuff (and it can be done by the thiefs quite easily in a way that's not particularly dangerous, as long as you're not fussy about the exact location and quality of the cut......)

 

[Pigeon]

Hence my suggestion of dichlorodiethylsulphide. Rather more persistent than disconnectable voltages.

 

[HSTEd]

Hence my suggestion of dichlorodiethylsulphide. Rather more persistent than disconnectable voltages.

Even leaving aside the ethics of releasing huge plumes of mustard gas, leading to major health impacts and probably deaths, PPE for working with it would resemble MOPP gear - I doubt any railway staff will relish working in that for hours.

A gas mask or respirator is wildly insufficient for mustard gas.

 

[Ghostbus]

It's not totally impractical to use a combination of a unique identifiable alloy placed in previously targeted and also random sections, and use trading standards style stings to catch any dealer or exporter who doesn't alert the authorities to suspicious activity, to markedly reduce the avenues that an opportunistic or otherwise not too smart thief can monetise stolen railway cable. The key here is that people only need to know this uniquely identifiable metal is out there, you don't need to wait to catch someone with it.

That only leaves the problem of thieves who have long term relationships with their customers/facilitators, and thieves who have the means and the will to melt their stolen cable down before trying to monetise it. They can probably be dealt with using good old fashioned criminal investigation. The expense would be more than justified, given the cost of the crime to the state by this category of offender will be quite significant. The side benefit being you probably also catch dealers/exporters engaged in a much wider variety of criminal activity.