Railway operator ProRail estimates copper thieves cause €10m-worth of damage to the rail network every year, the Volkskrant reports on Monday.



Every month, there are 15 to 20 thefts of copper from the railways, causing damage to the tracks and risking rail security, ProRail said.

According to various media reports, last week’s collision between a high-speed train and a goods train near Zevenaar was caused by copper theft.

Copper prices have been rising steadily for the past six months.