Tens of thousands of travelers faced major disruptions after coordinated cable thefts paralyzed Spain’s high-speed rail system on Sunday evening through Monday morning, Anadolu Agency reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thieves stole low-value cables at four strategic locations along the Madrid-Seville line\u2014areas deliberately chosen for their lack of surveillance cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sabotage stranded 30 trains carrying 10,700 passengers, with some travelers enduring 15-hour delays. Renfe, Spain’s rail operator, suspended services to Toledo, Puertollano, and Andalusia until 8 am local time, with partial resumption only after 9:30 am. One train’s mechanical failure further compounded the crisis by damaging overhead power lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transport Minister \u00d3scar Puente condemned the act as “sabotage,” noting the minimal economic gain for thieves versus massive societal impact. The incident follows a near-nationwide blackout just days prior, which had already disrupted rail services. Passengers like RNE reporter Jes\u00fas Navarro described being towed by diesel locomotives as a “tremendous morning.” Irregular services continued as authorities investigated the highly coordinated thefts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tens of thousands of travelers faced major disruptions after coordinated cable thefts paralyzed Spain’s high-speed rail system on Sunday evening through Monday morning, Anadolu Agency reported. Thieves stole low-value cables at four strategic locations along the Madrid-Seville line\u2014areas deliberately chosen for their lack of surveillance cameras. The sabotage stranded 30 trains carrying 10,700 passengers, with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":123844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[7856],"tags":[14119,14120],"class_list":["post-123843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spain","tag-cable-theft","tag-high-speed-rail-network"],"yoast_head":"\n