Cable theft causes major rail disruption

A cable theft caused major disruption to rail services in Yorkshire, National Rail said.

The theft in the Wakefield Westgate area created a fault in the signalling system, temporarily closing all lines between the station to both Doncaster and Sheffield.

Affected train routes on Thursday morning included CrossCountry services between Leeds and York and LNER trains between Bradford Forster Square and Skipton, Harrogate, Leeds, and London Kings Cross.

Northern services were also impacted between York, Leeds, Sheffield and Doncaster, with usual services resuming by 12:00 BST.

Network Rail said it was called to reports of the theft in Hemsworth, Wakefield, at about 03:00.

"Our engineers worked on repairs through the early hours and a full service was able to resume at about 08:20, although there has been knock-on disruption," a spokesperson said.

"Cable theft is not only disruptive to passenger and freight services, but also costs the taxpayer millions of pounds a year and is extremely dangerous.

"We work proactively to install new ways of securing cable and we work closely with the British Transport Police to trace those responsible for theft."

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