Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain’s railway tracks and infrastructure, reports that its work against cable theft include deploying ‘trespass beads’ on the West Coast main line. That’s tiny pellets designed to break upon impact as when taken up by thieves. The beads are made up of SelectaDNA, the UV (ultra-violet) based DNA solution which can place a criminal at a crime scene.
A solution released by the beads can be detected by sniffer dogs as well as seen under police torches, so stolen metal can be found and those who illegally sell items onward can be caught.
Jennifer Hartnett, Network Rail’s route crime and security manager for West Coast South, said: “Cable theft is a timely and expensive problem for the railway and it causes huge disruption to our passengers and freight services. To prevent it, we’re working closely with our partners at the British Transport Police and using innovative tactics like our trespass beads to help bring thieves to justice. We urge anyone who sees something suspicious on or near the railway to contact the British Transport Police.”
For the financial year 2023-24, some 101 incidents of cable theft across the national rail network caused trains to be delayed by 55,764 minutes at an estimated cost to the tax payer of £4m. The West Coast main line between London Euston and Crewe has seen a downward trend in cable theft due to tactics deployed. Cable theft on this route caused trains to be delayed by 823 minutes at an estimated cost to the tax payer of £175,000 for the year 2023-24.
Other users of SelectaDNA include the telecoms firm Openreach; the utility applies the product on equipment around its network.
