Signal cables ripped out at North Acton Station
British Transport Police have launched a major invesigation following the attempted theft of
signal cables from North Acton tube. The thieves were aiming to salvage the copper from the
cables as the price of the metal has tripled in recent years. Their actions closed the Central
Line for much of Thursday 16th bringing disruption to thousands of commuters.
Transport police say that combatting the theft of copper cable is one of their top priorities.
The problem has become much more acute since the closure of a major copper mine in Chile. They
were alerted to the problem early on Thursday. The cables had been cut but it appeared as if
the thieves may have been disturbed in the act. However as soon as cables are cut a fail-safe
mechanism comes into action and all connected signals will turn to red. This led to the Central
line being closed from Ealing Broadway and North Acton.
At the time of writing the Central line was once again experiencing significant disruption. It
is not known at this stage if this has been caused by further thefts.
November 20, 2006
|