UK: Network Rail admits cable thefts could be 'inside job'

[John Ashworth]

From The Railway Magazine, January 2012, p7

Network Rail admits cable thefts could be 'inside job'

The endemic problem of cable theft that has crippled parts of the rail network could be the result of 'insider' thefts, Network Rail has admitted.

Such crimes have cost the company more than GBP 40 million in the past two years.

Facing as many as eight incidents a day, Network Rail's operational services director, Dyan Crowther, told the Transport Select Committee that some of those responsible included current and former employees as well as contractors.

"There is evidence that there is inside knowledge," she said, admitting that there have been arrests and prosecutions of NR staff who have been involved in cable theft.

"They know when we are about to undertake a signalling scheme," she said. "It is almost like providing sweets in a sweet shop."

Cable theft has become a sophisticated crime, often using legitimate vehicles that would not look out of place.

The current laws are too inadequate and outdated to deal with the problem, yet despite lobbying, the Government is yet to change legislation. Paul Crowther, deputy chief constable of British Transport Police, told the committee: "We have Steptoe and Son-style legislation at the moment and it has not kept pace with current methods."