Hundreds of thousands delayed by signalling cable theft

Hundreds of thousands of mainline rail commuters suffered major travel chaos as the fourth theft of copper signalling cable in a week crippled South West Trains (SWT) and First Great Western (FGW) services.

They included FGW passengers also delayed on Friday due to yet another cable theft. Trains were today cancelled, diverted and suffered long delays affecting services to and from mainline Waterloo and Paddington stations.

Many were delayed by an hour or more. SWT was forced to run a reduced service on the main Portsmouth to Waterloo line. Trains which did run were even more overcrowded than usual with many commuters unable to get on.

Signalling cable was stolen overnight near Guildford - a busy rail area connecting numerous routes.

The theft, discovered at 3.20 am, is so severe it is not known how long repairs will take. A source connected with the investigation said: "These were thick cables and we believe they were cut with an hydraulic cutter. This is serious and highly organised theft."

FGW, which runs services to and from Paddington, is running emergency buses in and around the Guildford area.

Last week there were also cable thefts at London Bridge and Littlehampton causing widespread disruption across the south and south east.

Network Rail (NR) responsible for the national infrastructure and British Transport Police (BTP) are struggling to cope with the huge increase in cable thefts caused by escalating copper prices.

SWT owners Stagecoach today joined the call for mucn increased penalties to be levied on both the thieves and those who then buy the cable.

Sir Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group chief executive, said: "The organised theft of metals is having a huge impact on the rail industry and its passengers, as well as on other critical aspects of the national infrastructure."

Last year rail cable thefts cost the UK more than £1 billion. Robin Gisby, NR managing director of network operations, said: "Cable theft is a huge issue and one which the rail industry is committed to tackling - but we can't do it alone.

"We need to see tougher sentences for cable thieves in the courts and the police must be given the powers they need to tackle the rogue scrap dealers who are profiting from the travelling public's misery."