2023-09-30 10:00:00
Cable theft on railways caused more than 33,000 minutes of delays last year. This year, the trend is downward, except in the Liège region, notably in Seraing. So, the federal police are strengthening their measures to further combat these thefts. And this involves major operations carried out this week across the country.
Drones to help police officers
We followed a team to Seraing, along the railway. This is an area that the police know well. Here, cable thefts take place repeatedly. “We are looking for a suspicious vehicle that is parked along the tracks or people who are walking a little too close and who have nothing to do there” explains Francis Warnotte, first principal inspector.
They patrol several hotspots, these places where, despite police interventions, the number of thefts does not decrease, or very little. This night, to give themselves every chance, the teams are accompanied by drones. “It’s an incredible technique that allows us to have a global view of all the railway tracks. Normally, we patrol haphazardly.”
Nearly 500 thefts last year
The night is calm. But despite the measures taken by Infrabel and the police, nearly 500 thefts were committed last year. Francesco Arcadipane is a signaling technician at Infrabel, he knows something regarding it. “Over a week, I was called back 17 times. You can imagine that it’s heavy” he testifies.
Signaling problems, late trains, danger for passengers and workers, the consequences of these cable thefts are numerous, so the police are continuing their fight.
And the repair work following these thefts is expensive: for raw materials and labor, the total budget amounted to 7 million euros last year alone.
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