Police investigating theft of 30 tonnes of steel train line beams from Yardarino station, near Dongara

Police are appealing for the public’s help regarding the theft of 30 tonnes, or $10,000 worth, of train line beams near Dongara this week. Dongara police are investigating and say 100 units of 8m long steel beams were stolen from the Yardarino train station during railway refurbishments. According to police on Friday, the beams were stolen sometime over the last 10 days from a pile left for contractors to remove. They said heavy-duty equipment would have been needed to transport the beams. “Once railway workers have finished repairs, leftover materials are put aside for contractors to pick up,” a police spokesperson said. “We are investigating whether these beams were picked up over a period of time, or all at once by unknown parties. “It would be difficult to pick up these materials without the proper equipment.” Rochelle Zaknich, stakeholder engagement head at Arc Infrastructure, the company behind the track maintenance, said a rail recovery team was sent to retrieve the materials to be recycled but when they arrived the beams were gone. “Sometimes these materials are left sitting for long periods of time and people see that as an opportunity to take them to either sell for cash or use as building materials,” she said. “These materials are really desirable for thieves as they can be worth quite a lot of money as scrap metal.” Ms Zaknich said Arc contractors roughly calculated the total sum of the stolen items. “The contractors took the weight of the steel stolen and compared it with material prices and came up with a ballpark figure of roughly $10,000,” she said. Ms Zaknich said Arc Infrastructure urged the public not to trespass in rail corridors because it was illegal and very dangerous. “Some people think they are doing us a favour by taking these discarded materials off our hands, but really they’re endangering their safety and trespassing on land that is not theirs,” she said. While investigations are ongoing, Dongara police urge the public to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 if they have any information regarding the incident or the whereabouts of the materials.