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Copper wire theft prompts SacRT light rail service disruption, officials say

Light rail service in east Sacramento has been disrupted Monday morning due to vandalism, SacRT officials say.

The transit district says the vandalism was discovered earlier in the morning, disrupting Gold Line service between the 13th Street and Power Inn stations.

SacRT revealed that the vandalism was from copper wire theft -- an increasingly troublesome problem for the district as well as public infrastructure around the country, officials say. 

It's unclear how long it will take for regular service to resume, but SacRT says crews are working on repairing the damage.

In the meantime, a bus bridge between the stations is in place. 

SacRT says they recorded a total of 49 copper wire theft or vandalism incidents in 2025 alone, with each case costing an average of $10,000-20,000 to repair. Some of the more severe incidents have cost more than $50,000 to repair, the district says. 

High-risk areas are seeing increased patrols, SacRT says, and more surveillance cameras have been installed. Further, SacRT is touting the impending deployment of AI-powered drone technology at some point in 2026. 

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