Cable Theft in Spain Disrupts Train Travel for Thousands, Officials Say

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/world/europe/spain-sabotage-train-disruption.html

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More than 10,000 people were left stranded in Spain after cable thefts along a train route and a technical issue disrupted high-speed rail travel on Sunday and Monday, officials said.

It was the latest ordeal for Spain, which is still reeling from a power outage last week, one of the worst in recent European history. The cause of the blackout remains unclear.

Oscar Puente, the transport minister, called the thefts a “serious act of sabotage” in a social media post.

Mr. Puente said that the Spanish national police force was investigating thefts at five locations on the line between Madrid and Seville. He said those were partly responsible for widespread travel interruptions on Sunday, which is observed as Mother’s Day in Spain.

It was unclear who had stolen the cables, and why, but Mr. Puente described the episode as a theft of “low-value cable” most likely meant to cause havoc.

“Whoever did it knew what they were doing because there were no cameras, and the financial gain is absolutely negligible compared with the enormous damage,” Mr. Puente told the broadcaster Cadena Ser in Spanish on Monday.