Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Copper theft from railway lines appears to be on the increase and has cost the country nearly R14m in the last three years, according to Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele.
Replying to a question in parliament, Ndebele said Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) figures show that so far this year, cabling worth R512 454 had been stolen. Since 2007, there have been 51 cases of overhead cable theft and 737 of signal cable.
"The Prasa rail environment is an open rail environment, which can be accessed by criminals as a result," Ndebele said. "Furthermore, the rail network is spread over a vast area that is susceptible to be accessed by criminals. Security deployment for this open rail and vast rail environment is therefore a complex matter."
He added that the problem has a significant effect on the country's productivity.
While Prasa is moving away from copper cable towards fibre-optic cabling, Ndebele said measures under consideration to combat copper cable theft include the revival of a committee consisting of Prasa operational security, the South African Railway Police and other stakeholders.
Gauteng now has a diesel locomotive trolley which will be used for security patrols and to monitor rail lines.
- Fin24.com
Replying to a question in parliament, Ndebele said Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) figures show that so far this year, cabling worth R512 454 had been stolen. Since 2007, there have been 51 cases of overhead cable theft and 737 of signal cable.
"The Prasa rail environment is an open rail environment, which can be accessed by criminals as a result," Ndebele said. "Furthermore, the rail network is spread over a vast area that is susceptible to be accessed by criminals. Security deployment for this open rail and vast rail environment is therefore a complex matter."
He added that the problem has a significant effect on the country's productivity.
While Prasa is moving away from copper cable towards fibre-optic cabling, Ndebele said measures under consideration to combat copper cable theft include the revival of a committee consisting of Prasa operational security, the South African Railway Police and other stakeholders.
Gauteng now has a diesel locomotive trolley which will be used for security patrols and to monitor rail lines.
- Fin24.com
