Thieves steal four miles of copper wire from light rail line

One of the first scheduled, passenger-carrying light rail trains arrives at the Mount Baker Station with officials from Seattle during the kickoff of service on Saturday July 18, 2009. Sound Transit's new Link light rail began service between Westlake Center and Tukwila. less One of the first scheduled, passenger-carrying light rail trains arrives at the Mount Baker Station with officials from Seattle during the kickoff of service on Saturday July 18, 2009. Sound Transit's new Link ... more Photo: Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com Photo: Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Thieves steal four miles of copper wire from light rail line 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Thieves stole 70,000 pounds of copper cable from Sound Transit's Link light rail line between Tukwila and Sea-Tac Airport, the agency reported Friday.

Thieves ripped the wire from inside an elevated guideway that supports the tracks, probably over the last several months. From end-to-end, about four miles of cable was stolen, Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray said.

"This isn't something that would have been done overnight," Gray said. "Whoever did this knew what they were going after and had some sophisticated knowledge of how to get in."

The wire runs along the guideway's hollow interior to protect it from low-level electrical current that strays from the rails, and directs it to the ground. The current would otherwise corrode the structure's rebar over time, Gray said.

Grounding for the train's power line is run separately. At no time was train service affected or the public in danger, Gray said.

Maintenance workers discovered the missing wire Thursday during track inspections. One worker noticed something out of place and went for a closer look.

While workers walk the tracks twice a week for inspection, the guideway's interior is inspected only once a year, Gray said. Thieves took advantage of that.

"There could be trains running overhead and track walkers out on top and they would never know someone was inside," Gray said.

The stolen wire probably was cut into segments of two or three feet in length, he said.

Sound Transit police are investigating and ask the public's help in finding the thieves. Anyone with information is asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office tip line at 206-296-3311.

Sound Transit joins utilities and construction sites as popular targets for copper wire thieves. In some cases, crooks risk electrocution to steal wire that can sell for as much as $4 per pound.

Sound Transit says the cost of ordering replacement wire was about $200,000. That doesn't include the labor to install it.

The agency is checking into what insurance will cover, Gray said.

Sound Transit has since improved security at entry points and is looking into an electronic monitoring system, Gray said.

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