The Anonymous Widower

Could Battery-Electric Trains Be Used To Fight Cable Theft On Third-Rail Electrified Lines?

This article on the Network Rail web site is entitled What We’re Doing To Beat The Thieves.

These two paragraphs introduce the article.

Cable theft costs us millions of pounds each year. The total cost to the economy – taking into account the impact of freight delays to power stations and supermarkets, and on passengers who miss appointments or have their day ruined – is even higher.

The theft of metal is a big problem for the railway as thieves target signalling cables, overhead power lines and even metal fences to sell for scrap.

I took these pictures of cables on a trip to Hayes station, where the electrification is third-rail.

They all seem to be big and fat and are almost solid copper. Note that the cables are fat as they are carrying 750 VDC, so they need to be so, to carry the power for the trains, which can be several megawatts.

This explains, why thieves love these cables lying around and easy to access.

I should also say from personal experience, that with the right tools, it is easy to cut cables like these. When I worked at Enfield Rolling Mills in one summer in the early 1960s, I was asked by an electrician to help him dismantle the power cables to a machine. He cut through one with ease with an ordinary hacksaw, whilst I held it, with a couple of clamps.

I suspect modern day cable thieves have more advanced tools than we did sixty years ago.

A rail network like the UK, generally has four main types of lines that are electrified using third rails.

• Main Lines, where trains run at 100 mph plus.
• Branch Lines, which are generally shorter and trains run more slowly.
• Sidings and depots.
• Junctions

Note.

1. Main Lines are probably easier to protect using security cameras, drones and surveillance devices on trains.
2. As trains are also more frequent and faster, this must make cable thefts less likely to happen on Main Lines.
3. Branch Lines and especially rural ones, that may be quiet for long periods could be very difficult to protect.
4. Judging by the amount of graffiti on trains put on in sidings and depots, these are not easy to protect.
5. Junctions are complex, often with lots of cables, so could be magnets for thieves.

It should also be noted that there are phone apps, that can be used by the thieves to know when a train is coming.

So could it be possible to cut cable theft, by using battery-electric trains, that didn’t need electrification in theft-prone areas like branch lines, sidings, depots and junctions?

November 22, 2022 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Transport/Travel | Cable Theft, Third Rail Electrification