The R3 Rodalies line, which connects L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Puigcerdà via Barcelona, Granollers, Vic and Ripoll, came to a complete standstill on Wednesday afternoon after an incident disrupted the railway’s traffic regulation system. Adif said the suspension began at 15:30 after copper fiber-optic cable was stolen between Les Franqueses and La Garriga, compromising the safety of train operations.
Adif’s control center at the Estació de França detected the disruption, as the loss of signal integrity made it impossible to guarantee safe train movements. Initial investigations linked the incident directly to the cable theft, a recurring problem on the R3. Adif has made restoring normal service its top priority but has given no timeline for resuming operations. Responsibility for infrastructure remains separate from that of the passenger-service operator: plans for a new mixed company to handle service-related duties do not transfer control of the physical railway network from Adif.
The R3 has faced similar problems before. Chronic infrastructure issues have repeatedly interrupted service. In July, a similar incident led to a full suspension. Authorities initially believed copper theft was to blame, though they later revised the cause without public clarification. Each time, authorities have provided alternative road transport between Fabra i Puig (Barcelona) and Puigcerdà, while passengers between L’Hospitalet and Fabra i Puig have been redirected to the R4 line.
Cable theft has disrupted railway operations across Catalonia beyond the R3. Adif attributed 15,000 minutes of train delays in the region to cable theft during September 2026; Catalonia reportedly accounted for 40% of Spain’s railway-cable thefts. Adif filed 409 complaints over cable theft nationwide in the first half of 2026, nearly matching the 462 complaints recorded for all of 2025. Catalonia represented 37.8% of the first-half total. Between January and September, Adif recorded 320 thefts in Catalonia, including 47 in Tarragona province, information from figures reported by Diari de Tarragona.
Mossos d’Esquadra and Adif coordinate the Pla Via, and authorities have expanded inspections of scrap-metal businesses to identify railway materials. During an October investigation, inspectors recovered 55 kilograms of copper believed to have come from railway infrastructure at a Barcelona waste-management facility. The investigation into the seller remained open, La Vanguardia reported. These regional figures place the R3 disruption within a broader security challenge for railway infrastructure.
Since October, the R3 has been undergoing extensive works, including a major track closure between L’Hospitalet and La Garriga that was originally scheduled to last until May. The plan was to reduce the affected section to Mollet-La Garriga by spring, but a wall collapse at a cement factory in Montcada in March further delayed progress. Adif and the factory are in a legal dispute over responsibility for the wall, and Adif has now taken charge of its reconstruction. The reopening of the entire line has been postponed to January 2027, pending completion of the double-tracking project between Parets and La Garriga.
Service on the R3 has been sporadic throughout the year. After a train accident in Gelida in January, Renfe and Adif suspended the entire line, citing the need for urgent work on embankments and tunnels. Partial service between La Garriga and Ripoll resumed briefly in March but was halted after just eight hours when objects were found on the tracks. The section between Ribes de Freser and Puigcerdà reopened in July, then closed again within hours after a fallen tree damaged the overhead lines. Despite these setbacks, limited train service continued between Puigcerdà and Vic during July.
Theft-related interruptions continued later in the year. On 21 October, rail traffic between La Garriga and Centelles was interrupted from early morning after another cable theft. Service on that section was later restored, El 9 Nou reported. Work on the new R3 station at Parets del Vallès was also advancing, though construction-related traffic impacts were expected to continue until the end of 2026.
The repeated incidents expose the vulnerability of Catalonia’s rail infrastructure to criminal acts and structural weaknesses. Before the major closure in October, the line carried around 20,000 passengers daily, showing the scale of the disruption. The situation on the R3 echoes wider concerns about transport security and infrastructure ability to recover in Spain, including other high-profile cases such as the recent border security review in Ceuta, discussed in a report on the National Court’s request for a Guardia Civil assessment.
The recovery effort is unfolding alongside a wider modernization program. Catalan officials have called continuing the R3 double-tracking project beyond La Garriga toward Puigcerdà a priority. The broader rail-ability to recover agenda includes 151 active interventions, following emergency works valued at €200 million after disruptions earlier in 2026. Sílvia Paneque, the Catalan government official responsible for the cited policy discussion, called for accelerating the continuation of R3 double-tracking beyond La Garriga to advance toward Puigcerdà.
Renewal of the Rodalies fleet is also delayed: the first of more than 110 new Alstom trains are expected from the first quarter of 2027, rather than by the end of 2026, as the trains undergo homologation and testing. New rolling stock cannot by itself resolve failures involving railway infrastructure managed by Adif, including problems with cables, signaling and track works. Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente told frustrated passengers, “Everything will improve,” while adding, “We must be humble and realistic, but we are working a lot.”
Railway theft, particularly of copper, remains a persistent challenge across Spain. It causes costly delays and undermines public confidence in regional transport. The R3’s reconstruction and legal disputes further complicate the timeline for full restoration. Passengers must rely on alternative transport options while authorities work to secure the network and address the problems that have repeatedly put one of Catalonia’s basic rail arteries out of service.
