Copper Cable Thefts in Spain Leave Passengers Trapped in Trains Overnight

Passengers wait to be given access to their trains after cable stolen from a high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia caused delays at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Copper thieves brought part of Spain's high-speed train network to a standstill on Sunday evening, leaving some trapped in trains overnight and thousands stranded at stations.
Thieves stole cables in four areas within a 10-kilometer radius in what Transport Minister Oscar Puente called a "serious act of sabotage" in a post on X.
Train services on the affected lines were suspended Sunday evening, and while on Monday morning a few trains left Madrid for Toledo, 70 kilometers south, services to cities such as Seville and Malaga further south were still suspended, Adif said on X, according to Reuters.
Thousands of people were left waiting in Madrid's Atocha station. It comes after hundreds of passengers were left trapped on trains last week during a nationwide blackout.
Nine trains were left stranded between stations, with many passengers forced to spend the night onboard, according to interviews on state broadcaster TVE.
The state-owned railway infrastructure operator Adif said its staff were working to replace the stolen cables and reestablish the service.
The high-speed network has rapidly expanded in Spain as part of a government push to decarbonize public transport.
The network connects almost all the country's big cities but is vulnerable to cable thefts because it crosses large swathes of empty countryside.