Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF) has awarded Nexans, a worldwide expert in the cable industry, its first contract to design and manufacture specialised rail cable that includes the new CORE-TAG® anti-theft cable technology. This cable will be installed in the network infrastructure in 4 of the regions operated by Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), the company that owns and maintains France’s rail network.
The earthing cable Nexans will supply comprises a lead-sheathed copper conductor with a 25 mm2 cross-section. The cable has been manufactured at Nexans’ facilities in Mehun-sur-Yèvre in the centre of France. Most cables – earthing cables in particular – are constructed mainly from copper, making them extremely valuable and appealing to thieves (due to the high resale value of scrap copper).
Usually when cable is stolen the insulation, which could be used to identify the owner, is burnt off the cable just leaving the copper conductor. In contrast to more complex and expensive tagging techniques such as those using rare earth elements, Nexans’ CORE-TAG solution involves installing a coded fire-resistant copper tape that is intertwined In the conductor.
Nexans
