Although not a tragedy in itself, the theft made French authorities limit the speed of the trains traveling through the affected 300 meters portion of the railway (985 feet), causing 15-20 minutes delays to the otherwise Swiss-watch precise TGV train service. The 118 trains delayed by the theft were traveling from Paris and Brussels to London and were carrying some 35,000 passengers.
According to AFP, both the signals and the electricity that powers the Eurostar trains were affected. La Voix du Nord says the four thieves were apprehended on Saturday night in Ronchin. According to the French railway company, this is the 36th cable theft since the beginning of the year.
Copper theft has increased in intensity in the last year, as a result of the climbing prices for raw materials. A plaque for years now, the dangers of copper theft now tends to expand and possibly affect more than the lives of those committing the crime themselves. A good conductor of heat and electricity, it is widely used in electrical cables.
Separately, another Romanian, this time a passenger in a train in Italy, pulled a sword (yes, a sword) when asked to present his ticket. The man, who was apparently drunk, was stopped in his tracks by an off-duty policeman, who alerted authorities in the next train station.
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