Cable thefts have thousands stranded on Spanish trains

Thousands of people were left on trains or stranded at night after the theft of copper cables stopped high speed services between Madrid and the Andalusia region in southern Spain.

Authorities opened an investigation on Monday after Sunday’s theft, which Minister óscar Puente called a “serious act of Sabotage”.

He added that the cable theft took place at five locations, all within a few kilometers apart on the high -speed line. On Monday morning, Puente said that train operations were “completely recovered”.

This travel disruption comes a week after Spain and Portugal had suffered a blackout, so that trains came to a halt in the same way. The cause is still unknown.

“Suddenly in the last two weeks – what’s going on?” Kevin, a tourist from the US, told Reuters’s news agency while waiting for Madrid’s Atocha station, where thousands were stranded.

More than 10,000 passengers were hit between Madrid, Sevilla, Malaga, Valencia and Granada, and at least 30 trains.

The disturbance came to Madrid after a long weekend and for the Feria festival of a week in Seville, which sees an inflow of travelers to the city.

“Operations are now fully recovered after a very difficult night for commuters … and staff, who had to respond under extremely complex circumstances,” said the Minister of Transport on Monday morning.

The theft allocations, he said, were in areas that were accessible through forest paths.

Train services gradually return normally, said the national rail manager of Spain Adif on Monday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior said that the civil guard of the country and the police were in contact with Adif and other authorities to “clarify what happened and to identify the responsible person”.

The price of the buyer has risen in recent years and cable thefts of train and telecommunications networks have risen.