Thousands of train passengers stranded in Spain days after massive blackouts

Spain’s rail network suffered an ‘act of serious sabotage’ after signalling cables were stolen over the bank holiday weekend,causing chaos for more than 10,000 travellers.

Passengers were stranded overnight after thieves wreaked havoc on the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville,stealing vital cable from the system across four locations in the Toledo area.

The theft happened late Sunday evening,affecting dozens of trains between Spain’s capital and Andalucia during a busy travel period after the Labour Day weekend.

Thousands of passengers were eagerly waiting for updates after spending hours on station floors,trying to get information from rail staff.

The cable theft sparked mayhem on the Spanish railways after a holiday weekend (Picture: Reuters)

Passengers said they were frustrated over a lack of information (Picture: Manu Fernandez/AP)

Footage shows frustrated passengers gathering at Madrid’s Atochat station today. Crowds were seen demanding to know what was happening with their trains.

Renfe,Spain’s state-owned train operator,asked commuters not to arrive too early to calm the situation.

One passenger posted on X that his train was scheduled to leave Seville shortly before 9pm yesterday.

Instead,the train arrived to Madrid at 6.30am today. He claimed they spent ’10 hours on a train that ran out of food and water after half an hour.’

The travel chaos comes days after an unprecedented power outage plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness. The government has ordered several investigations into the blackout.

People had no choice but to wait at stations after the theft forced trains to stop across central Spain (Picture: EPA)

A typical train journey between the cities usually takes just under three hours.

Alberto Valero,a tourist from Mexico,told AP he and his family had spent hours at Madrid station due to the issue.

He said: ‘We’re here with tourists from everywhere — France,Portugal.

‘Everyone is at a loss for what to do because of the total disarray.

Another traveller said at midnight today they had been travelling from Granada to Madrid – around a 260-mile journey – for more than six hours and were ‘still in progress.’

Travellers were also affected last week during the massive power outage which affected Spain,Portugal and south of France (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

ADIF,the company that owns Spain’s railway infrastructure,said on X the theft happened at four points on the line in Toledo.

It hoped services to resume from around 9.30am between Madrid,Seville,Malaga and Granada.

Today’s train chaos comes after life in Spain and Portugal was severely disrupted last week after massive power outages lasting for days.

At least five people were killed in the unprecedented blackout,which turned Madrid dark as the Spanish grid lost 60% of its power,with national emergency declared.