Cable theft hits Metro once again

Jul 25 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

CABLE thieves again disrupted services on the Metro yesterday morning. Trains were delayed after 200m (656ft) of copper cabling was taken from the line between Howdon and Hadrian Road stations in North Tyneside.

The vandals also cut three communication cables and damaged a section of fibre optic cable.

Police were called to the scene at about 1am yesterday.

It is the ninth time in two years that cable has been stolen from the Metro.

Metro bosses said the service was running normally by 8am and disruption was kept to a minimum.

They apologised for any inconvenience caused to passengers.

The incident is the latest in a spate of metal thefts in the region, which is being driven by high scrap prices caused by demand from China.

Thefts from church roofs, bandstands, war memorials and cabling on train and Metro lines have been reported across the North East.

A Nexus spokesman said: “We have definitely seen an increase in this type of theft since the price of metals increased. Each incident could cost us tens of thousands of pounds.

“Every time this happens we have to spend thousands organising extra bus services and getting people in to do overtime. But the biggest cost is the disruption it causes to our customers.

“We have some security in place and we are constantly working with the police to share information and catch the people who are doing this.

“But we would also ask people who live near to our tracks to be vigilant. If we are doing work on a stretch of line we send letters out to people in the area, so if anyone sees people doing work on lines which they don’t know about they should call the police.”

The spokesman also warned that the thieves were putting their own lives in jeopardy.

He said: “This is a very dangerous thing to do. The thieves are putting themselves in danger, as well as others, by going down the lines in the middle of the night.

“It’s a good idea to keep away from areas where trains could be running at up to 50mph.”

Insp Pam Bridges of North Tyneside Area Command, said: “Metal theft is a growing problem and we are determined to tackle it.

“Thefts from businesses can cause disruption to many people. We would appeal to the public to contact us if they have any information on this incident, or any of the others.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0345 604-3043.

Exclusive - Background to the metal theft issue

The Journal’s Sam Wood looks the spate of metal thefts in the region - and the reason why they’re happening.

THE theft of cable from the Metro network is just the latest in a string of similar incidents in the region.

Churches, bandstands, war memorials and the railway network have all suffered - and it’s the demand from China driving up prices.

With the Olympics just a few weeks away, and the country in the middle of a construction boom, China is hungry for every bit of scrap it can get. Imports have risen exponentially over the past decade, and consumption is expected to reach five million tonnes this year.

China accounts for more than 22% of world copper demand. But the effects of the new global player’s clout are only now becoming apparent.

Neil Hawkes, Lead Analyst at CRU International Research told The Journal that production of copper and lead had not managed to keep pace with the level of demand, driving up prices.

He said: "This is a worldwide problem, not just something which is happening in England. All these incidents of theft are being driven by record prices for copper and lead.

"A couple of years ago the metal was about $500 a tonne but that shot up to a peak of $4,000 late last year.

"It has dropped off a bit since then but not by much. Copper has seen similar rises.

"With prices so high, it becomes very attractive for people to start stealing metals. People on the fringes of the scrap industry don’t tend to ask too many questions about where metal has come from."

The assumption is that the stolen metal is helping to supply the large-scale construction projects in China -– not just Olympic infrastructure such as the ‘Birds Nest’ stadium, but the tower blocks, industrial parks and transport links up and down the country.

Mr Hawkes added: "Production has increased recently which could mean prices should drop a bit further, but I don’t see them ever returning to the low levels they were at just a couple of years ago. Prices would have to fall quite a bit further to make stealing it not worthwhile."