Copper thieves strike Auckland train line, signals affected sparking delays, cancellations
An Auckland train line has been targeted overnight by thieves looking to make an easy profit from copper cable-lined railways, as authorities tie the booming scrap metal market to an increasing number of theft attempts.
Auckland Transport (AT) warned passengers that Eastern Line trains would run at a reduced frequency “due to a track infrastructure issue between Meadowbank and Ōrākei” in a notice just before 6am.
An official at nearby Panmure station told the Herald that services were affected by an act of “vandalism” on the tracks.
AT referred questions to KiwiRail as the lead agency, who confirmed this morning’s disruptions stemmed from “attempted cable theft which affected the signalling system overnight”.
“Anyone that interferes with live railway cabling is putting themselves at risk of serious harm,” a KiwiRail spokesperson said.
“Theft of this nature typically leads to serious disruption while we reinstall equipment and test systems before getting core rail services back up and running.”
Delays and cancellations on Auckland's Eastern Line were caused by attempted copper cable theft on its tracks overnight, KiwiRail confirmed. Photo / Alex Robertson
With the state-owned rail company reporting a dramatic uptick in similar incidents recently, KiwiRail said it works closely with police and “takes all measures available to deter theft”.
Wellington and Wairarapa train services have been acutely affected by the rise in scrap metal theft, with Wellington Metro general manager Andy Lyon earlier revealing that stolen equipment had shut the Hutt Valley line six times in April alone.
The actions resulted in disruptions to more than 50 services over the same period.
Last week, morning commuters faced chaos after train services out of Porirua were paused when trespassers were spotted trying to steal cables from inside a tunnel.
On the Wairarapa line, 5km of cable has gone missing over the past six months, which KiwiRail said had cost it hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace.
Hutt Valley Police Inspector Shaun Lingard said that “anyone that interferes with live railway cabling is putting themselves at risk of serious harm through electrocution”, adding that the low returns for the high-risk activity aren’t worth it and cost the community far more.
Scrap copper prices have surged in recent years, with global demand driving up prices for the commodity overseas and at home.
According to a 2025 police report, reported thefts of copper and other metals to sell as scrap had nearly tripled in the three years prior.
In May, RNZ reported that 15 electric vehicle (EV) chargers across Wellington had been vandalised by copper cable thieves, leaving them unusable and forcing drivers to travel further afield to charge their car.
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