Beginning around 12.30 pm, the power failure led to the simultaneous suspension of trains, underground services, airports and traffic control systems, triggering an unprecedented emergency. While the source of the disruption is still under investigation, its devastating impact on mobility across the region is already evident. Authorities responded swiftly, but restoring full services is expected to take considerable time and coordination.
In Spain, the national rail network was the first to fail. Infrastructure operator Adif reported its entire system out of service, while train operator Renfe confirmed a total shutdown from 12.30 pm. Suburban lines were severely affected: Madrid’s Cercanías services ground to a complete halt, as did Rodalies routes in Catalonia. Power loss brought metro systems to a standstill, forcing Madrid’s Metro to suspend all operations and evacuate stations. In Barcelona, thousands of passengers were trapped in carriages and had to be manually evacuated without escalators or lifts.
Urban road traffic descended into chaos as traffic lights failed across Madrid and Barcelona, with police manually directing vehicles at major junctions. Airports suffered as well. Madrid-Barajas faced serious difficulties at its control tower, delaying landings and departures. At Barcelona-El Prat, operations continued at a reduced level but with widespread delays and cancellations.
Portugal also faced severe disruption. Rail operator Fertagus suspended all services indefinitely, while Lisbon airport struggled with stranded travellers and disabled operational systems. Telecommunications networks were badly hit, complicating emergency management. The Portuguese government established a crisis control group, with the minister of the presidency, António Leitão Amaro, suggesting that the root cause lay outside Portugal, possibly linked to Spain’s electricity grid.
In southern France, the blackout had a milder but still noticeable impact. No detailed figures have yet been released, but the incident exposed vulnerabilities in France’s cross-border infrastructure. Only ten days earlier, on 18 April 2025, a separate technical failure at Paris’ Gare du Nord had caused hours of delays on multiple rail routes.
Emergency protocols were quickly activated in both Spain and Portugal. Spain’s authorities formed a crisis committee, and the DGT urged citizens to avoid travelling by car unless necessary. In Portugal, the team led by Leitão Amaro oversaw initial containment measures. Red Eléctrica Española and REN (Redes Elétricas Nacionais) began restoring power in stages. Some cities, including Alicante, started to see normal service resume by early afternoon, with traffic lights returning to operation.
The origin of the failure remains unknown. A cyberattack has not been ruled out, though authorities are treating that theory with caution pending official investigations. Initial analyses suggest the fault originated within Spain’s transmission network. Events on this scale are extremely rare in Europe. A major precedent occurred in 2003, when a power failure caused the worst blackout in post-war Italy.
