Cable thefts on the rail network serving the Westcountry have fallen by 72% over the last year, reducing disruption to passengers.
Network Rail has been working to tackle the crime which, at its peak, caused more than 6,000 hours of delays to trains across the country in a single year.
Along the Western route – serving London, the Thames Valley and the Westcountry – the number of metal thefts affecting trains fell from 25 in 2011-12 to seven last year.
Incidents caused 184 hours of delays to trains last year down from 234 hours in 2011-12. Compensation to train operators fell from £512,574 to £322,914.
Patrick Hallgate, managing director of the western route, said: "These figures are great news for passengers and our freight customers. The improvements we have seen are down to a number of factors, including British Transport Police targeting thieves and the scrap dealers buying stolen metal.
"We've worked with suppliers and other industries to make metal – particularly our cables – harder to steal and easier to identify and had teams around the network looking at new ways of working to reduce delay and fix thefts more quickly.
"The introduction of new laws, following our work with other industries to explain the need for change to Government, will make a real difference in stifling the market for stolen metal.
"I want to thank everyone who has been involved in securing this success, including members of the public who have reported suspicious behaviour to police.
"We are not complacent that this issue is solved and we will continue to work to further reduce cost and delay caused by thieves on our railway."
Nationally, the number of thefts dropped from 845 in 2011-12 to 285 last year.
