Rainham cable theft: problem is “out of control”

Rail passengers suffered fresh delays today (Friday) because of another incident of cable theft in Rainham, a problem a union leader said was now “out of control”.

Services run by c2c between Essex and London were hit, causing disruption during the busy morning rush hour.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and transport union, said: “The problem of cable theft on the railways is escalating out of control.

“If a chunk of the excessive profits of the train companies was invested in visible staffing, track patrols and security we could get a grip on this criminal disruption to rail services.”

There has been a spate of signal cable thefts in recent months, causing huge disruption to train services across the country.

British Transport Police (BTP) said that two men had been charged in relation to an incident of cable theft in Rainham last Tuesday, which caused rail delays.

Jozef Wawrzyniak, 38, of no fixed address, and Gabriel Stanciu, 30, of Brook Road, Dagenham, have been charged with theft of cable and are due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.