Latest news with #Adif
Al Arabiya
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Massive blackout hits Spain and Portugal
Power went out across Spain and Portugal on Monday, cutting train, cell phone and internet networks, clogging roads and trapping people in elevators before electricity started to return to some areas hours later. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after an emergency government meeting on the situation, 'we have no conclusive information about the reasons for this outage.' He said no hypothesis could be ruled out, warning the public 'not to speculate' because of the risk of 'misinformation.' 'People were stunned, because this had never happened in Spain,' said Carlos Candori, a 19-year-old construction worker who had to exit the paralyzed metro system in Madrid. 'There's no (phone) coverage, I can't call my family, my parents, nothing: I can't even go to work,' he told AFP. In Madrid and elsewhere, customers rushed to withdraw cash from banks, and streets filled with crowds trying in vain to get a signal on their mobiles. Long lines formed for taxis and buses. Some people were trapped in elevators or inside garages. As a precaution, play was cancelled at the Madrid Open tennis tournament for the rest of the day. With stop lights knocked out, police tried to direct traffic on roads that became densely congested. Authorities urged motorists to stay off the roads, but communication channels were limited. Spain's railway operator Adif said trains were halted across the country. Spain's nuclear power plants also automatically went offline as a safety precaution, with diesel generators maintaining them in a 'safe condition,' the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said in a statement. 'Serious disruption' Sanchez said the blackout, which hit at 12:30 pm (1030 GMT), had caused 'serious disruption' for millions and 'economic losses in businesses, in companies, in industries.' But he said grid technicians were working to resolve 'the problem as soon as possible,' adding that some parts of northern and southern Spain were already able to get power thanks to interconnections from France and Morocco. Sanchez urged people in Spain to limit the use of their mobile phones to avoid overburdening the network, saying 'telecommunications are in a critical moment now.' The European Commission said it was in contact with Spain and Portugal over the situation, while European Council President Antonio Costa said on X: 'There are no indications of any cyberattack.' The head of operations for Spain's grid operator Red Electrica, Eduardo Prieto, said that repairs were being carried out, but that it would take six to 10 hours to restore power to the country, 'if all goes well.' Portugal's REN operator said the entire Iberian peninsula was affected – 48 million people in Spain and 10.5 million in Portugal. The huge power cut disrupted flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, European air traffic organization Eurocontrol said, adding it was too early to say how many would be affected. France affected Southwest France was also briefly affected, but power there was quickly restored, said France's high-voltage grid operator, RTE. Transport chaos also gripped Spain's second city, Barcelona, where locals and tourists alike flooded the streets in an attempt to find out what had happened. Student Laia Montserrat had to leave her school when the lights went out. 'As the internet wasn't coming back, they told us to go home... (but) there weren't trains either,' she told AFP. 'Now we don't know what to do.' Images posted on social media showed metro stations in Madrid plunged into darkness, with trains halted, and people in offices and hallways using the light on their phones to see. The internet activity monitoring site Netblocks told AFP the blackout caused a 'loss of much of the country's digital infrastructure.' It said web connections plunged to just 17 percent of normal usage. Spain's El Pais newspaper reported that hospitals used back-up generators to keep critical wards going, but some other units were left without power. Massive blackouts have affected other countries around the world in recent years. Huge outages struck Tunisia in September 2023, Sri Lanka in August 2020, and Argentina and Uruguay in June 2019. In July 2012, India experienced a vast blackout. In Europe, in November 2006, 10 million people were left without power for an hour in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. That was caused by a failure in Germany's grid.
Local Spain
06-05-2025
- Local Spain
Why is copper theft on Spain's railways so common now and who's behind it?
Over the years, there have been many cases of criminals stealing copper cables from train lines in Spain in order to sell for scrap metal. According to data from Spanish rail infrastructure manager Adif, 72 thefts were recorded in Spain in 2022, in 2023 the number climbed to 151, and in the first four months of 2024, 46 thefts had already been recorded. The latest incident was on Sunday May 4th when part of the cable on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line was stolen, causing delays for 18 trains and affecting over 10,000 travellers on Sunday and Monday. Transport Minister Óscar Puente denounced the theft on his X account and called it an "act of serious sabotage'. He later visited the site of the robbery and said that "there are two hypotheses" regarding what happened, "an economic one and one of causing harm", believing that "the most likely hypothesis is a deliberate attempt to cause harm on this tracks" given that the 150 metres of copper stolen are only worth around €1,000. Nevertheless, copper theft can be a fairly lucrative business. Scrap metal from Spain is often transported to London, along with other products used in the production of basic goods, but it is also sold on the black market by criminal organisations. According to Alicia García-Franco, secretary general of the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling, thieves can get between €4 and €6 per kilo. She explained to newspaper EL ESPAÑOL that 'copper from overhead rail lines is a prized commodity because it has a higher purity'. And why is the theft of this metal so damaging to Spain's rail network? Every metre of Spain's high-speed rail line has sensors, track circuits, and electronic systems that provide real-time information on the status of each section of the track, whether it's occupied, whether a switch is positioned correctly or if a train should stop or continue. This data travels through buried cables and many of them are made from copper. When they are stolen, this flow of information is interrupted and the systems enter safety mode, reducing speed or halting trains completely. Last year, Catalan police said that they were searching for Eastern European 'mafia' groups which could be responsible for several copper wire robberies. "These are repeat offenders who have been committing these types of crimes for years because the sentences are so light; in most cases, they are accused of minor offences for which they don't even go to prison," the SAP-Fepol spokesperson stated at the time. These criminal groups can sell copper to China for up to €10,000 per tonne. 'China has a very high demand as a result of its industrial and technological development,' according to García-Franco. The number of copper wire thefts on Catalonia's railway system alone is almost 1,000 since 2010, according to data provided by the Mossos d'Esquadra police force. Catalonia is the region where the most of this type of larceny occurs. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Transport more than 50 percent of the thefts and vandalism in Spain happen in the northeastern region. It's important to note however that these stats include robberies on trains and assaults, as well as copper thefts from tracks. According to a former Adif worker in Barcelona who spoke to EL ESPAÑOL 'These are well-planned operations; the thieves know exactly what they are doing'. While it's a big problem for Catalonia and its regional network, it could be an even greater issue if it happens more often on Renfe's high speed lines, causing more disruption and delays. According to Transport Minister Óscar Puente, "whoever did it knew what they were doing because there were no cameras, and the financial gain is absolutely negligible compared to the enormous damage. I wouldn't call it theft, but rather sabotage". It's not only in Spain where railway copper theft are occurring, as similar criminal acts are in fact delaying thousands of passengers across the continent and causing millions of euros worth of damage to rail infrastructure throughout Europe. It has been seen in Germany, France, Belgium. German operated Deutsche Bahn says it sees around 450 cases of metal theft on its networks per year and French newspaper Le Monde reported that 40,000 SNCF trains were affected by copper wire theft in 2022. Is there anything that can stop this happening? Some of the ways that are used to prevent robberies on the networks include replacing copper with aluminium or fibre optics where possible, burying cables in reinforced manholes or sealed conduits to make them difficult to access, adding more sensors to detect robbers, as well as more video surveillance and drones.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cable thefts leave thousands stranded on Spanish trains
Thousands of people were left trapped on trains or stranded overnight after the theft of copper cables halted high-speed services between Madrid and southern Spain's Andalusia region. Authorities opened an investigation on Monday after Sunday's theft, which Transport Minister Óscar Puente called a "serious act of sabotage". He added that the cable theft took place at five locations, all within a few kilometres of each other on the high-speed line. On Monday morning, Puente said train operations were being "fully restored" . This travel disruption comes a week after Spain and Portugal suffered a blackout, which similarly saw trains comes to a standstill. The cause is still unknown. "All of a sudden in the last two weeks - what is going on?" Kevin, a tourist from the US told Reuters news agency as he waited at Madrid's Atocha station, where thousands were stranded. More than 10,000 passengers were affected between Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Valencia and Granada, and at least 30 trains. The disruption came after a long weekend in Madrid and ahead of the week-long Feria festival in Seville, which sees an influx of travellers to the city. "Operations are now fully restored after a very difficult night for commuters... and staff, who had to respond under extremely complex circumstances," the transport minister said on Monday morning. The theft locations, he said, were in areas accessed via forest trails. Train services were gradually returning to normal, Spain's national rail manager Adif said on Monday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the Spanish interior ministry said the country's civil guard, and police were in contact with Adif and other authorities to "clarify what happened and identify those responsible". The price of copper has soared in recent years, and cable thefts from train and telecommunications networks have surged. How Spain powered back to life from unprecedented national blackout Spain rules out cyber attack - but what could have caused power cut? 'Everything went off': How Spain and Portugal's massive power cut unfolded
BBC News
05-05-2025
- BBC News
Cable thefts leave thousands stranded on Spanish trains
Thousands of people were left trapped on trains or stranded overnight after the theft of copper cables halted high-speed services between Madrid and southern Spain's Andalusia opened an investigation on Monday after Sunday's theft, which Transport Minister Óscar Puente called a "serious act of sabotage". He added that the cable theft took place at five locations, all within a few kilometres of each other on the high-speed line. On Monday morning, Puente said train operations were being "fully restored" .This travel disruption comes a week after Spain and Portugal suffered a blackout, which similarly saw trains comes to a standstill. The cause is still unknown. "All of a sudden in the last two weeks - what is going on?" Kevin, a tourist from the US told Reuters news agency as he waited at Madrid's Atocha station, where thousands were than 10,000 passengers were affected between Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Valencia and Granada, and at least 30 disruption came after a long weekend in Madrid and ahead of the week-long Feria festival in Seville, which sees an influx of travellers to the city."Operations are now fully restored after a very difficult night for commuters... and staff, who had to respond under extremely complex circumstances," the transport minister said on Monday theft locations, he said, were in areas accessed via forest services were gradually returning to normal, Spain's national rail manager Adif said on Monday in the day, the Spanish interior ministry said the country's civil guard, and police were in contact with Adif and other authorities to "clarify what happened and identify those responsible".The price of copper has soared in recent years, and cable thefts from train and telecommunications networks have surged.
BreakingNews.ie
05-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Cable theft in Spain delays thousands of high-speed rail passengers
Thousands of rail passengers in Spain have faced delays after the cable used in the signalling system of the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville was stolen at four locations, Spanish rail authorities said. The theft, which happened late Sunday, affected dozens of trains travelling between Madrid and Andalucia, just as many people were returning home to the capital after a holiday weekend. Advertisement Spain's railway infrastructure company, Adif, said on X that the high-speed train connecting Madrid and cities in the south was expected to resume service around 9.30am, from Madrid and in Seville, Malaga and Granada. Alvaro Heredia, president of Spain's state-owned rail operator Renfe, said it expected a resumption of normal schedules by mid-morning in an interview with Spanish national radio broadcaster RNE. Travellers wait for news about their delayed trains (Manu Fernandez/AP) Droves of travellers crowded Madrid's Atocha station on Monday seeking information about their trains from rail employees and screens with updated departure times. Renfe advised passengers to not arrive too early to avoid further crowding. By 9am, Alberto Valero and his family had spent hours at the station due to train delays between Madrid and Seville, where they were headed. Mr Valero was on holiday in Spain from Mexico, and expressed frustration about the lack of information. Advertisement 'We're here with tourists from everywhere — France, Portugal,' Mr Valero said. 'Everyone is at a loss for what to do because of the total disarray.' The cable theft took place at four points on the high-speed line in Toledo in central Spain, Adif said on X. The incident came a week after a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal ground high-speed train traffic in Spain to a halt, stranding thousands of passengers for several hours.
