Lauren Stevenson is no stranger to the Cercanias commuter train, which travels from Alcala de Henares, Spain, to Madrid.

She has been on the train with her friends more times than they can count.

But Stevenson, who is studying abroad in Spain this semester, decided not to take the train to Madrid yesterday morning, opting to travel today instead.

That decision may have saved her life.

Ten backpack bombs exploded during morning rush hour in three Madrid train stations yesterday. One of the bombs detonated on the train UA students studying in Spain use to travel to Madrid.

The explosions killed more than 190 people and left more than 1,400 injured.

Stevenson, a history junior and a former Arizona Daily Wildcat employee, said if the train had been attacked 24 hours later, she would have been riding one of the trains that was ripped apart by a bomb.

Stevenson is one of 27 UA students studying abroad in Alcala de Henares, a half-hour train ride from Madrid. None of the UA students was harmed in what is being called the worst terrorist attack in Spanish history.

Melissa Fitch, an associate professor in the Spanish department who is with the students in Spain, said most of the students were sleeping when the bombs went off around 7:30 a.m. As soon as she heard the news, she started contacting students to make sure everyone was safe.

Melissa Eddy's roommate was on the 7 a.m. train to Madrid. Eddy, a UA junior majoring in English, said she was worried until her roommate, who is from the University of Oklahoma, called to say she was OK.

The train Eddy's roommate rode was one of the last to arrive safely in Madrid.

Fitch said the attacks unnerved many students because they had planned to take the train yesterday.

"A lot of the students go out late at night, so they don't wake up early," she said. "In this case, it worked in our favor."

Melissa West, an elementary education junior, said the atmosphere in Spain reminds her of Sept. 11.

"It's almost like going through it again," West said. "People are just watching the news and crying."

There's a different feeling in the streets, Fitch said. "There's a silence," she said.

Shortly after the attack, Spanish authorities blamed the Basque separatist group ETA for the bombings, which took place three days before Spain's general election.

But the latest reports from The Associated Press stated a group called the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri claimed responsibility for the attack in the name of al-Qaida. According to The Associated Press, police found a van last night with detonators and a tape in Arabic in the town of Alcala de Henares.

It's scary to be in Spain as an American right now, West said.

"People think the attack might be because of Spain's support of America's invasion of Iraq," she said.

Stevenson said the attack has made home feel far away.

"You're just so scared because it was close and it could have been you," she said.

Stevenson said although other American students talked about leaving Spain, the UA group will stay. Fitch said the UA students in Alcala de Henares have grown closer since the attack.

The UA students plan to attend a memorial in Alcala de Henares as a silent protest against whoever committed the acts, Stevenson said.

Malcolm Compitello, the head of the Spanish and Portuguese department, has been involved with study abroad programs for more than 30 years, and said international events like the bombings periodically have an effect on study abroad enrollment.

"We understand that some students will want to delay or cancel their trips," he said.

He said his department would continue to recruit for its summer programs.

The program will go on, he said.