German national railway company Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, electricity supplier RWE and the Association of German Metal Traders VDM have recorded successful operations for 2012 to combat non-ferrous metal theft.

According to the three companies, non-ferrous metal theft declined by over 10% in 2012, with 3,400 incidents of theft. The material damage amounted to over 20 million euros – a slight increase on the previous year. In addition one must take into account the negative consequences in terms of public image, with the cancellation and delays of train services, as well as disruption to telephone communications and data links.

DB’s latest figure of 2,700 cases of theft corresponds to 10% fewer than the previous year. However the consequences were still significant, with over 240,000 minutes of delays involving more than 17,000 trains. Delays were reduced (in minutes) by 15% compared to the previous year, for the same number of trains. The material damage came to 17 million euros – that is an increase of two million euros.

(Source: Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, RWE, VDM)