Cable theft bid disrupts Airport Express Line services on Sunday
About 800 metres of cable were cut between Dhaula Kuan and Shivaji Stadium, forcing manual driving at 25 kmph.
Operations on the Airport Express Line (Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 to New Delhi) remained impacted for the entire day on Sunday, allegedly after an attempted cable theft in the early hours of the day. Trains were operated manually, at reduced speeds of around 25km per hour against the usual speed of 100-120km per hour, from 7am.
Officials said around 800 metre of the signalling cables on tracks were damaged and operations between Dhaula Kuan and Shivaji Stadium stations were affected.
“The cable theft disrupted the signalling system, and trains are running at a restricted speed of 25km/hr in the affected section. Rest of the stations on Airport Express Line saw normal services. Trains on this line move every 10 minutes, it was not possible to replace the cables during the day,” Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at DMRC, said.
“Restoration work will be taken up at night after the end of revenue service. The necessary planning and preparatory works are already being undertaken during day time for the activities to be done at night,” he added.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the miscreants could only cut the cables between the Dhaula Kuan and Shivaji stadium stations, but were unable to take them. The cables were recovered from near the tracks.
“Although the cables were cut during the attempted theft, thieves could not take away the cut pieces, which were found near Metro Pillar number 9 during an inspection,” Dayal added.
Train services start on the Airport Express Line at 7am, with the last metro departing at around 11.40pm. Typically, cable thefts are attempted post midnight and before the start of services, when trains are not in operations.
“DMRC deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to such incidents of cable thefts and is also in touch with the law and order machinery to resolve such recurring issues,” Dayal said.
Instances of cable thefts in Delhi Metro are not recent. HT, on April 5 last year, reported that since June 2024, at least 89 cable thefts were reported across the network. In these cases, a whopping 22 kilometres (or 44,000kg) of copper wire worth nearly ₹4 crore was stolen, DMRC data accessed by HT had shown.
The most commonly struck section was the Red Line, accounting for nearly 25% of all theft cases, followed by the Pink Line (18%) and Yellow Line (11%).
Investigators had said that such thefts are carefully planned and executed by gangs of at least seven to eight people, each assigned a specific role.
At least four members scale walls for elevated corridors, climbing trees or using ropes to access metro tracks, officers explained. They then move to predetermined spots and slice through copper wires — often hundreds of metres long, weighing over 200kg.
The stolen copper is transported to a clandestine network of warehouses, often in northeast Delhi, 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.
