1,000km of cables stripped from SA rail network this year

[John Ashworth]

1,000km of cables stripped from SA rail network, just this year

The theft of overhead cables and vandalism of railway property has reached unprecedented levels, says Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), revealing more than 1,000km of copper cable was lost between January and October. The company has recorded an average of 600 theft and vandalism incidents monthly. TFR said it is continuing to witness a steep increase in incidents. In the period October 29 to November 10, another 55km of cable was stolen. The rampant theft and vandalism has a severe effect on freight movements, resulting in the service having to cancel trains daily. “Year to date, TFR has cancelled 1,190 trains as a direct result of security-related incidents,” it said...

The Impact Of Cable Theft And Vandalism Of Transnet Property

The theft of overhead cables and vandalism of Transnet property has reached unprecedented levels. In the period January 2021 to October 2021, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has lost over 1000 km of copper cable, over an average of 600 theft and vandalism incidents monthly. The consequences of cable theft are not limited to financial losses but often result in tragedy. TFR security is under constant threat such as the incident last week where a security officer was ambushed and fatally injured at the Natalspruit Depot in Germiston...

[John Ashworth]

Transnet reports over 1,000 km of copper cable stolen in 2021

IT IS UNBELIEVABLE! Transnet reports that from Jan to Oct 2021, it lost 1,000 km of (overhead) copper cable and, in the two weeks leading up to 10 November, another 55 km. It’s quite obvious that the gangsters (certainly mafia-style gangs) are becoming daring in the extreme. The security is nowhere to be seen, although controlling hundreds of kilometres of railway line securely must be a task and a half. What I really do not understand is where the SA police intelligence apparatus is to establish who trades all of that stolen equipment? That’s 1,000 km cable, not small fry! There must be major dealers and/or processors around disposing of it all.

What is concerning is that, as a result of the broken-down electrification, Transnet is considering doing away with electric traction and just using diesel in future.That would be an enormous tragedy; not only conceding defeat to gangsterism, but to the environment, having a substantial increase in large diesel engines pushing out their exhaust gases. It’s bad enough that much of the goods previously transported by rail now goes by road transport, with hundreds of diesel trucks contaminating the air. Never mind the damage to the road surfaces...