Overview
- Police in Madrid arrested nine people, including two minors, and charged them with 107 offences after a probe that began in December 2025 identified a pattern of fast, coordinated attacks on running Cercanías trains.
- Investigators say the crews used the 'palancazo' tactic of pulling emergency brakes to stop trains and then paint carriages in minutes, and in some incidents they used aerosols with lighters as improvised blowtorches and confronted passengers.
- Searches recovered portable angle grinders, master keys for depots and dozens of spray cans, and authorities estimate the group caused more than €400,000 in damage to Madrid trains.
- Renfe data show the problem is concentrated in Catalonia, where 970 vandalism acts in 2025 cost about €7.4 million and immobilised an average of two trains per day, prompting expanded surveillance, dog patrols, drone monitoring and faster cleaning methods.
- Adults arrested have been brought before judicial authorities and the two minors were referred to the Juvenile Prosecutor, while the Catalan parliament has approved much stiffer fines of up to €900,000 that aim to increase deterrence but leave juvenile-law enforcement as a central challenge.