Rail thieves steal or damage half a mile of new power cables

THIEVES have stolen or damaged more than half a mile of overhead power cables just after they were installed during electrification work on the Glasgow-Paisley Canal line, forcing Network Rail to cancel more trains for repairs.

The firm said the route, which has suffered significant closures during the £12 million project since September, will now also have to shut for the next two Saturdays - 10 and 17 November.

Trains will also be cancelled after around 7:30-8pm on weekdays - apart from Fridays - until Thursday 15 November. Replacement buses will operate instead.

The cables, which were stolen on 31 October, were not live.

New electric trains are due to take over from the current diesel trains in mid-December, but the project is to increase reliability and it does not involve more frequent or faster services.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We apologise for the short notice for these works and any inconvenience caused. Our engineers are working as quickly as possible to deliver the new infrastructure, but following the theft of a significant amount of cable from the line we have had no option but to slightly extend our engineering works.”