Reuters.com: Rails missing; it's hard to keep track...

Reuters.com: Rails missing; it's hard to keep track...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Thieves have dismantled and carted away some 5 kms (3 miles) of disused rail track close to the German town of Weimar, railway operator Deutsche Bahn said on Friday.

The railway operator said the thieves would probably sell the tracks as scrap metal with the damage amounting to at least 200,000 euros ($241,500).

Deutsche Bahn said it had noticed the missing track after the mayor of a town alongside the train line phoned in to check if the dismantling was planned.

'This was a major criminal operation, because you cannot simply take the tracks and carry them away,' said a spokesman for the rail operator.