UK - cunning plan to tackle cable theft

[John Ashworth]

From the uk.railway newsgroup. It doesn't give a citation for the original, simply "From NR's Intranet". There's a picture of the new cable here.

Tackling cable theft

Following persistent theft of copper cable, including over 20km of cable
on a signalling renewal scheme in 2006, Network Rail decided an
ambitious new approach was needed to tackle the problem.

Rod Moorcroft, programme manager for the team working on the project,
explains: "We wanted to find a way to make the cable traceable if
stolen. Existing power cable is hard to identify particularly if
stripped or burnt back to the copper cores. This makes it difficult for
the British Transport Police (BTP) to arrest and prosecute people."

With UK cable manufacturers failing to offer solutions, the team turned
to Spain, where the railway was already benefiting from some of the
improvements needed, including cabling that was tougher to strip and
burn. The team then worked closely with a Spanish cable manufacturer to
develop the new product.

Ian Watson, project development manager, explains: "We've made the new
cable easily identifiable by giving it a distinctive colour unique to
Network Rail. The outer sheath is embossed with Network Rail and the
Engineers' Line Reference to show where it's been installed and we've
added a tracer thread to identify the cable even if stripped back to the
copper cores."

The new cable has received product approval and will be available to
order through Network Rail shortly.

Fast facts on the new cable:

- the inner and outer sheaths are flame retardant
- a corrugated steel sheath protects against fire and water
- the cable is easily identifiable to the BTP and scrap dealers
- the cost increase of the cable is minimal despite the new features