Copper cable theft on Spanish railways has surged, causing significant disruption to train services and costing millions in damages. The number of thefts has increased dramatically, from 72 in 2022 to 151 in 2023 and 46 in the first four months of 2024. A recent incident on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line affected over 10,000 passengers.
While the financial gain from selling the stolen copper is relatively low (€1,000 for 150 meters), the Minister of Transport suspects deliberate sabotage. The high purity of copper from overhead lines makes it a prized commodity, fetching €4-€6 per kilo, with criminal organizations selling it on the black market or exporting it to countries like China where demand is high (€10,000 per tonne). Investigations point to Eastern European organized crime groups as potential culprits, with lenient sentencing contributing to repeat offenses.
The theft of copper cables severely impacts Spain's rail network. These cables carry vital real-time data about track occupancy, switch position, and train operation. Their theft interrupts this data flow, forcing trains to slow down or stop completely, causing extensive delays and passenger disruption. Catalonia has been particularly affected, with nearly 1,000 thefts since 2010.
Various preventative measures are being explored. These include replacing copper with aluminum or fiber optics, burying cables in reinforced conduits, installing more sensors and video surveillance, and employing drones. Similar issues are affecting other European countries, including Germany and France, highlighting the need for coordinated countermeasures across the continent.
The theft of copper cables on Sunday caused travel chaos for thousands of train passengers in Spain, the latest of many such incidents. Why is this type of crime becoming so frequent, who's behind it and why is it so damaging to Spain's railways?
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.
READ MORE: Spain opens probe after copper theft halts dozens of high-speed trains
Transport Minister Ă“scar Puente denounced the theft on his X account and called it an "act of serious sabotage”.Â
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.Â
According to Alicia GarcĂa-Franco, secretary general of the Spanish Federation for Recovery and Recycling, thieves can get between €4 and €6 per kilo. Â
She explained to newspaper EL ESPAĂ‘OL that “copper from overhead rail lines is a prized commodity because it has a higher purity”.Â
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.Â
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 GarcĂa-Franco. Â
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.Â
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. Â
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 Ă“scar 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.Â
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.Â
Is there anything that can stop this happening?Â
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.Â
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