Of the convicted persons, 14 received 10-year jail terms while 15 received five-year jail terms.
Some cases are pending finalisation at the courts
Last year, 41 cases were reported in which property worth US$29728 was stolen.
Of those arrested last year, 12 received 10-year jail sentences and four were sentenced to five years in jail each.
NRZ Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Manager Andrew Kunambura applauded the courts for imposing deterrent sentences.
“As the NRZ, we are happy that the courts are imposing such highly deterrent sentences on these vandals. It has been a big cause for concern over the past years and we can now begin to hope for a reduction in these cases as more vandals get punished,” he said.
“We are saying this is critical national infrastructure and nobody should unfairly benefit from it. Stealing rail components, for instance, leaves the tracks loose and our trains susceptible to derailments. These derailments can lead to loss of lives for crews, damage to our trains and loss of customer goods we are carrying.”