A section of Los Angeles' Metro rail system that extends from Norwalk to the South Bay was delayed this week because of the theft of copper wires used to power the rail cars.
The incident marks the latest in a surge of thefts of valuable copper wiring, which has caused disruptions for the rail system, which serves more than 5 million riders a month.
In 2022, Metro reported more than 60 copper wire thefts, mainly affecting the Metro A Line, formerly known as the Blue Line. So far this year, there have been 21 thefts, mainly on the C Line, formerly the Green Line, Dave Sotero, a Metro spokesperson, said in an email. These thefts are happening on the above-ground sections of the light rail lines.
