It will not be a smooth resumption of service for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority trains after their workers’ strike ended Wednesday, because thieves stole so much copper wire off the tracks that the trains can’t run again until next week.

If you’ve been following the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) strike that started March 10, you probably know that the striking workers were ordered back onto the job by a Wednesday preliminary injunction from a judge. That was bad news for the striking workers, but good news for San Jose commuters, and VTA service was scheduled to start rolling again tomorrow (Friday).

Not so fast. Yes, VTA buses are expected to be rolling again Friday. But the VTA light rail trains will not be running Friday, nor over the weekend, and not until Monday at the earliest. And as KGO explains, that’s because thieves stole so much copper wire off the tracks during the strike that the trains cannot run.

"During the last two weeks when there was no train running on any track anywhere, copper wire theft skyrocketed, particularly on one of our lines," VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross told KGO. "So that has to be replaced, that work has to be done. We want to make sure that everything is as safe as it possibly can be before we get service going."

The trains, you see, cannot run without copper wire on the tracks.

This is not the first time that VTA train service has struggled with copper wire theft. Just last year, there were two incidents of copper wire theft in a month along the VTA train track system. Those thefts did $500,000 worth of damage.

And yes, once the suspects were caught, two of them were also booked on charges of methamphetamine possession.

As for the strike, while it is over, the negotiations are expected to continue at a date not yet determined. Plus, the workers’ union vows to appeal Wednesday’s judge’s decision.

Related: Truck Appears to Drive Into Striking VTA Workers on Picket Line, One Hospitalized [SFist]

Image: VTA.org