In 2021 and 2022, the number of cable thefts increased by 300 percent. Last year, Infrabel clocked up to 466 cases. A torn cable means that a train track becomes impassable, resulting in delayed or canceled trains. In 2022, that meant a total of 33,169 minutes of delay, or an hour and a half per day. Moreover, the thefts cost Infrabel nearly seven million euros at the time.
But the trend is slowing down. There have been 85 cable thefts so far this year, resulting in 11,202 minutes of delay. That is much less than in previous years in the same period.
Most of the missing cables are made of copper, a metal that rose in value at the beginning of 2022. Although the price is still high, thefts have decreased.
The nightly inspections by the railway police probably have something to do with that, Infrabel thinks. In addition, Infrabel installed GPS trackers this year, so that the location of cables can be communicated in real time and suspects can therefore be traced quickly. Alternatives to copper are also being sought.