Rail users are being asked to help the battle against cable thieves who are causing massive delays to rail passengers throughout Britain.
They are urged to encourage the Government to toughen up the scrap metal regulations to make it more difficult for thieves to benefit from stolen property.
Rail users could contact Lord Henley, the Home Office minister responsible for crime prevention, explaining how much disruption railway cable theft causes.
Rail managers say that in one month, July, cable theft cause 600 hours of train delays on the West Anglia route near Stansted airport, between Stratford and Colchester on the Great Eastern main line and the Thameside route near Barking.
In the past year there have been 104 incidents in the East Anglia region which caused 57,500 minutes of train delays.
Around 100,000 passengers travel into London to work every day on the East Anglian rail network, so a delay of even half an hour per person can cost a huge amount of productive time. It is estimated that this caused 50,000 hours to be lost to the British economy.
A joint plea for tougher action has come from Andrew Chivers, Managing director of National Express East Anglia, and Andrew Munden, Network Rail’s route director.
They say: “We would also like to request your support in strengthening legislation to help discourage this hugely disruptive crime.
“The legislation, which dates from 1964, and the penalties applied to convicted offenders, are inadequate for the modern, global metal recycling industry of today and need to be substantially improved to deter increasingly organised metal thieves.”
They are calling for a new licensing scheme requiring the origin of metal to be recorded, curbs on cash transactions, tougher penalties and powers for the police to close down firms.
British Transport Police are using up scarce resources in trying to track down the thieves and prevent the thefts.
A rail industry working party has suggested a package of measures to Lord Henley but needs public support to ensure action is taken.
NXEA's Jonathan Denby said: "Incidents of cable theft cause huge disruption and inconvenience.
"In addition, they can result in a significant loss of productivity, with thousands of people late for work and meetings. So it is not just passengers and the rail industry who are disadvantaged – businesses and the economy suffer too.
"Train operators and Network Rail are working together and in coordination with the British Transport Police to try to both prevent such problems and mitigate their effects.
"Any additional support rail users can provide when meeting with or writing to their MPs would be appreciated."
You can write to Lord Henley at House of Lords, Westminster SW1A 0PW
Information from NXEA