Between April 25, 2024 and April 25, 2025, one of CP’s nine Alfa Pendulars will circulate with an external decoration inspired by the symbols and images of the Carnation Revolution. Visual elements such as stylized red carnations and a phrase alluding to the 25th of April will adorn the exterior of this composition that the company calls the Freedom Train.
According to CP, “this train will operate on a regular basis, providing passengers with not only a literal journey, but also an educational and reflective reminder of the history and impact of April 25th”.
On its travels over the next 365 days, the Freedom Train will be seen mainly between Lisbon and Porto, but also in the Algarve and Braga.
The company naturally expects to see numerous images of this train shared on social media and says that “this special project, using an Alfa Pendular train, aims not only to celebrate the 25th of April, but also to reinforce CP’s role in mobility and culture Portuguese”.
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For the company, this initiative is not just a celebration of a historic milestone, “but also a reaffirmation of the values of freedom and progress that CP promotes”.
On March 3rd, PÚBLICO asked IP if it would carry out any initiative to mark the 50th anniversary of April 25th, and an official source from that public company responded, on April 5th, that “Infra-estruturas de Portugal does not have any initiative scheduled, and if it happens, it will not fail to disclose it appropriately.”
Remember that it was on the so-called “freedom train” that Mário Soares returned from exile in Paris, arriving at Santa Apolónia station on April 28, 1974. Interestingly, a journey that would be more complicated today: since 2020 that Lisbon does not have international trains, after the Lusitânia Expresso was suspended.
