The theft of a £100,000 cable over the Christmas period will cause the closure of a train line this weekend and disrupt plans to open for New Year’s Day
Brit train passengers are being warned of travel chaos and frustrating delays as we head into 2025 after callous thieves swiped £100,000 worth of brand-new infrastructure from a major rail upgrade project.
The sickening theft, which took place just before Christmas, saw crucial high-voltage cables taken from a part of the rail network in Lostock, near Bolton.
The missing cables were discovered by engineers during the Christmas period, as they arrived to work on the massive £100m project to modernise the train travel in Greater Manchester, which has already seen residents affected by weekend closures in recent months. With the loss of the cables, they can now expect further disruption this weekend, while workers attempt to restore the line before its planned New Year’s Day electrification.
These 25,000 volt cables are crucial as they power the overhead equipment that, in turn, powers the new electric trains which are increasingly replacing old diesel engines in the North West. Rail authorities have confirmed they are working with police to track down and prosecute the culprits.
Because this audacious theft took place just a week before the line was scheduled to be energised, the stretch between Chorley and Bolton will be out of action for most of this Sunday (29 December), impacting a variety of passengers. TransPennine Express services linking Manchester with Glasgow and Edinburgh won’t stop at Bolton until after 6pm, and local services will be hit too, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Christian Irwin, Network Rail’s capital delivery director, said: “I am very sorry to passengers who will be impacted by the rail closure between Chorley and Bolton on Sunday.
“It is extremely frustrating for this crime to take place so close to the energisation of the line. Our teams have been working very hard to deliver this upgrade for passengers over several years including over this Christmas period.
“We are working closely with the British Transport Police to provide additional security measures and to find and prosecute those accountable.”
Passengers have been informed to check their travel plans on the National Rail website or consult with train operators about how this disruption may affect their journey.
Network Rail also warned passengers to take extra care as electrified routes have a deadly 25,000 volts running through them.
