How to integrate protection into your rail cables to prevent cable theft

Cable theft is being primarily driven by an increase in the demand for copper. Prices have steadily risen over the past decade, alongside demand, and this has meant more cable thefts to extract what has become a precious commodity. Average prices for copper have doubled compared to a decade ago and this versatile metal is used everywhere, which is why it’s such a target. But there are ways to ensure protection for rail cables to help prevent cable theft.

Simple deterrence

Given the rise in copper theft in recent years, deterrence measures are vital. It’s essential for any site where there are copper cables to have at least basic defences in place, including 24/7 surveillance. Deterrence can be either passive or active. Passive measures are designed to make it more difficult and costly to steal copper rail cables and active methods will help to catch criminals in the act and provide an alert to the police and owners.

Disguise copper cable as steel guywire

This is the main way to integrate protection into rail cables. These are essentially anti-theft cables that are designed to disguise the copper wire by making it look like less appealing steel wire. These wires are made from smaller tinned copper wires that are grouped together to surround the copper so that, from the outside, the wire looks like steel. Steel wires don’t have the same value as copper when sold as scrap so aren’t likely to be targeted in the same way – but this design means that the cables still function in terms of flexibility and conductivity. This approach can be used in other ways too, for example coating copper busbars in steel so that they look less valuable from the outside.

Other protective steps

• Improving security measures. Many thefts take place after a site has been closed for the day and could be prevented with a range of passive measures, such as better locks.
• Fasteners to cover copper wire. It’s not always feasible to bury cables to protect them, as this can make it difficult for the cables to be accessed by engineers. So, an alternative solution is the use of fasteners that cover copper wire but also allow easy access when required. Industrial grade steel cover plates coupled with U channel backing bars are an ideal solution.
• Tracing and tracking. This is becoming increasingly common with companies in industries where there is a high risk of property theft. There are lots of different ways to do this, from etching cables to painting them or labeling with coded particles to make it easier to trace stolen goods.
• As the Internet of Things continues to expand, its use in helping to protect rail cables lies in the sensors, which can be used to monitor wires in real time and send a notification if theft is detected.

Given the way in which rail cables are targeted for their copper today, it’s vital to implement protection to prevent cable theft.