Taxpayers lost more than $330,000 to copper thieves ripping up Wellington’s railway cabling in the last two years.
By Justin Wong of Local Democracy Reporting
Figures from KiwiRail showed cable theft from rail yards and laid cabling cost it $150,000 in 2025 and $187,000 this year. That figure did not include the cost of the disruption to commuters because that was difficult to quantify.
In Wairarapa, KiwiRail had laid 5km of replacement copper cabling, but it did not have distance figures for the whole Wellington region because it was not always recorded.
Greater Wellington regional councillor Tom James said copper theft was costing Wellingtonians "far too much" in delays, cancellations and dollars, and the disruption that criminals were causing was unacceptable.
James, the deputy chairperson of the council's public transport committee, obtained the information through an official information request.
He was worried current enforcement was inadequate: "Our region deserves reliable rail services – there’s already too many delays and buses replacing trains due to the decades of deferred track renewals."
KiwiRail’s commercial and performance manager Paula Alkema said the impacts of copper theft could be significant and it worked closely with the police when incidents occurred.
"Copper cabling is used in a range of rail systems, including signalling and other safety-critical infrastructure," she said. "When cabling is damaged or stolen, this can result in delays and disruption for both passenger and freight services while the affected infrastructure is made safe, assessed and repaired".
Electricity Networks Aotearoa chief executive Tracey Kai said there has been an “escalation” in the number of incidents. (Source: 1News)
In August, police arrested two men and charged them with endangering transport for allegedly damaging a heavy signalling cable at Takapu Rd station to steal a copper cable. The severed cable caused signal faults and grounded all train services for emergency repairs.
Kāpiti-Mana Area Commander Renée Perkins said at the time the cost of the damage to the infrastructure was about $3000, but the delay and loss in productivity to early morning commuters could not be quantified.
"It's very disappointing that people are causing damage to public transport services and are willing to put other people's lives at risk," she said.
The police also arrested a 36-year-old Featherston man the month before on suspicion of the “extensive theft” of copper from along the line between Featherston and Woodside.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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