Several kilometres of cable were stolen overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday on the line connecting Brussels to Luxembourg, resulting in disruptions to train services, the Luxembourg public prosecutor’s office announced.
Thieves initially stole 500 metres of cable near the village of Hogne, in the Somme-Leuze municipality of Namur province. About half an hour later, a second theft occurred between Grupont and Poix-Saint-Hubert in Luxembourg province, with three kilometres of cable taken. The Luxembourg prosecutor’s office suggested these incidents, which happened around 4:00, could be related but confirmed no arrests have been made.
The thefts caused train service interruptions on sections of Line 162, between Haversin and Marloie, and between Grupont and Hatrival. “The stolen cables were essential for powering railway signals, necessitating a halt in services for safety reasons,” explained Infrabel, the railway infrastructure manager. Services resumed around 7:00 thanks to the rapid response by 24/7 on-call teams who replaced the stolen cables.
Data shared by Infrabel indicates that in 2023, cable theft on the railways caused 24,849 minutes of delays, equating to over 414 hours.
