Stop, thief!

At its peak in 2011/2012 the cost of cable theft to GB rail infrastructure operator Network Rail was estimated at over £18m. There were 844 separate incidents, resulting in delays to passenger and freight services that totalled more than 5,743 hours. Although Network Rail has not cracked the cable theft problem fully, the operator feels it is heading in the right direction. Its initial success was attributed to various factors, including the British Transport Police´s Operation Tornado enforcement initiative, backed by the Home Office funded Metal Theft Unit set up in 2011. The paper discusses how wireless monitoring is helping Network Rail improve safety and cut service disruptions.