Four days after new Metro corridor opened; cable theft impacts operations in Delhi

The cables – essential to track the movement of trains, were stolen before the start of Metro operations at around 6 am in the section between Bhalswa and Majlis Park, the DMRC said.

New Delhi: Four days after being inaugurated and operationalised, Metro operations on the new 9.9km Magenta Line corridor from Deepali Chowk till Majlis Park were impacted on Thursday through the entire day, following theft of signalling cables totalling over 500 metres-long on the section, officials said.

The DMRC said on Thursday that cables will only be replaced now once operations end for the day - after midnight. (Representative image)

Police said that they have arrested a 28-year-old man identified as Seikh Safiq, a resident of Jahangirpuri, for allegedly stealing signalling cables from the Delhi Metro network near Majlis Park, disrupting the signalling system on the corridor.

The cables – essential to track the movement of trains, were stolen before the start of Metro operations at around 6 am in the section between Bhalswa and Majlis Park, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said, adding that it resulted in trains being run at reduced speeds of 25 km/hr - as opposed to regular speeds of 60-80 km/hr.

“The cable theft has disrupted the signalling system, and trains are running at a restricted speed of 25 km/hr in the affected section between Bhalswa and Majlis Park Metro station stations,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated two new metro corridors in the Capital -- a 12.3 km section from Majlis Park to Maujpur-Babarpur (extension of Pink Line) and a 9.9 km section from Deepali Chowk to Majlis Park -- an extension of the Magenta Line.

Both corridors were operationalised on the same day for the public, after 3pm onwards and took the total metro network in NCR -- under the DMRC to over 400 kms.

The DMRC, meanwhile, said on Thursday that cables will only be replaced now once operations end for the day - after midnight.

“The installation of these signalling cables is not possible without adversely affecting passenger services during revenue hours, therefore to minimise passenger inconvenience, restoration work will be taken up at night after the end of revenue service tonight,” Dayal said during the day, adding the necessary planning and preparatory works were already being undertaken during day time for the activities to be carried out at night.

A total of seven stations have been opened on this Bhalswa and Majlis Park section, which includes Deepali Chowk, Madhuban Chowk, Uttari Pitampura Prashant Vihar, Haiderpur village, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Bhalswa and Majlis Park. This segment includes interchanges at Madhuban Chowk, Haiderpur Badli Mor and Majlis Park.

The entire section is elevated, with officials stating there are cameras both on the tracks and at Metro stations within the premises. “The necessary footage will be shared with law authorities,” an official said.

Cable thefts are also not new to the Delhi Metro. The last incident occurred in January 11, when Metro operations on the Airport Express Line (Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 to New Delhi) were impacted for the entire day, following an attempted cable theft in the early hours of the day. Around 800 metres of signalling cables had been damaged on the tracks.

HT had on April 5 last year, analysing DMRC data, flagged how since June 2024, at least 89 instances of cable theft had been reported across the network. In these cases, a whopping 22 kilometres — or 44,000 kilogrammes (kgs)-- of copper wire worth nearly ₹4 crore has been stolen, data accessed by HT had shown.

Out of the 89 cases, around 40 occurred on elevated sections. The most commonly struck section was the Red Line, accounting of nearly 25% of all theft instances. It was followed by the Pink Line (18% of all cases) and the Yellow Line (11% of all cases).

Investigators HT spoke to then, said such thefts are carefully planned and executed by gangs of at least seven to eight people, each assigned a specific role. Instances are even emerging of thieves striking during daytime, when the metro is running.

Police said at least four members scale walls for elevated corridors, climbing trees or using ropes to access metro tracks. They then move to predetermined spots and slice through copper wires -- often hundreds of metres long and often weighing over 200kg.

Next, the stolen copper is transported to a clandestine network of warehouses, often in northeast Delhi or areas such as Madanpur, where it is stripped of its rubber insulation. The copper is sold to scrap dealers in Mustafabad and parts of Uttar Pradesh for ₹700-750 per kg -- lower than the market rate of ₹900, making it a quick sale too.

DMRC said similar to past instances, it is in touch with law authorities.

“DMRC deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to such incidents of cable theft and is also in touch with the law and order machinery to resolve such recurring issues,” Dayal said, stating to keep passengers informed, regular announcements were made at every station and inside the trains from Deepali Chowk to Majlis Park section.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police (metro) Bharat Reddy, said the accused, Safiq was apprehended from a forested patch near the tracks while allegedly melting stolen wires to extract copper with his four associates.

Police said the incident came to light around 4.20 am when the Operations Control Centre (OCC) signal controller at Majlis Park informed Metro police that signalling cables between Majlis Park and Bhalswa Metro stations had been stolen, severely affecting the signalling system.

“A night patrolling team rushed to the spot and noticed a few individuals in a nearby jungle allegedly burning wires to separate copper. The team immediately moved in and managed to apprehend one suspect from the spot. Around 170–180 metres of burnt cable was recovered from him,” Reddy said. Four associates managed to flee.

The recovered cable was seized and a case was registered at Azadpur Metro police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and provisions of the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act.

In his complaint, Jasbir Singh, assistant section engineer (signals) with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), stated that a preliminary inspection revealed that nearly “1,000 metres of signalling cable had been removed or stolen from the stretch”.Police said raids are being conducted to trace and arrest other suspects involved in the theft.

Reddy said that a joint survey of vulnerable locations along the corridor has been conducted by teams of Metro police and DMRC to prevent similar incidents in the future.