Track sabotage priced at millions
The theft of copper electricity cable from sections of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) network across the country has resulted in the loss of some 10 million euros while jeopardizing track safety, an OSE workers’ union has claimed. According to the union, sections of railway line running through Menidi, northern Athens, and Kiato, near Corinth, have been targeted by thieves over the past six months. These sections are believed to have attracted the thieves, as the cable had been installed but was not live. An estimated 100 kilometers of valuable copper electricity cable has been stolen from the railway network of the debt-ridden OSE over the past three years. Last summer a group of Roma – three men and a woman – were charged with sabotaging the national railway network and endangering human life by removed lengths of copper electricity cable to sell for profit.
