Overview
- Adif said technicians repaired signalling damage and restored normal AVE circulation between Madrid and Andalucía by Saturday morning following a cable theft that disrupted services on Friday.
- This was the second copper‑cable robbery affecting the southern high‑speed corridor in five days, with Adif reporting nine cable‑theft incidents nationwide in the past week.
- Adif says three of the recent robberies hit the same Castilla‑La Mancha zone between Urda, Malagón and Ciudad Real, and the faults affected trains to Andalucía and the Madrid–Toledo line.
- When signalling cable is removed, safety protocols force sharp speed cuts and operational restrictions on the affected stretch, which then ripple delays across AVE services to cities such as Seville, Málaga, Córdoba and Granada.
- Adif has deployed emergency repairs, will add two patrols to three already in the area, and is coordinating with state security forces to try to prevent organised metal‑theft that feeds a black market and poses ongoing risk to passengers.