MADRID (Reuters) – Copper thieves brought part of Spain's high-speed train network to a pause on Sunday night, some of whom were trapped in trains overnight and thousands were stranded at the station.
The thief stole cables from four areas within a radius of 10 km, and transport minister Oscar Puente called it “serious act of vandalism” in his post on X.
Adif said on X that train services on the affected lines were suspended Sunday night, while on Monday morning several trains left Madrid for Toledo, 70 kilometers south, while services in cities such as Seville and Malaga were still suspended.
Thousands of people are waiting at the Atocha station in Madrid. Hundreds of passengers were trapped on the train last week during a nationwide power outage.
According to an interview with state broadcaster TVE, nine trains were stranded between stations and many passengers were forced to spend the night on the ship.
ADIF, a state-owned railway infrastructure operator, said its staff are working to replace the stolen cables and rebuild services.
Spain's high-speed network has expanded rapidly as part of the government's push to decarbonize public transport.
The network connects nearly all the big cities in the country, but is susceptible to cable theft as it crosses a large number of empty countryside.
(Reported by Inti Landauro; Edited by Charlie Devereux by Alexandra Hudson)
