Cable theft along railway lines in Spain led to severe delays for the country's rail network this week. Spain's transport minister called the theft of the vital signaling cable "an act of serious sabotage.

Oscar Puente, the transport minister, said “a serious act of sabotage” had brought some trains to a halt. Service was resuming on Monday.

The cable theft occurred late on Sunday, May 4, at four separate locations along the AVE high-speed line in the Toledo area. The stolen cables were part of the railway’s signalling system, which led to widespread delays and cancellations across the network.