"1000 ULTIMATE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES" - Para quando a reabertura do E-24?

Exmo. Senhor Presidente da CML,
Dr. António Costa,



Em primeiro lugar as nossas saudações pela tomada de posse como presidente da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa. Votos de bom trabalho.

Neste primeiro dia de trabalho, chamamos novamente atenção para o eléctrico 24 inaugurado a 2 de Novembro de 1907. Anteontem deviamos todos ter celebrado os seus 102 anos. Mas a promessa da reposição do eléctrico 24 (Cais do Sodré / Campolide) continua por cumprir apesar de ser cada vez mais evidente a importância dos eléctricos tanto para a mobilidade sustentável como para o desenvolvimento do Turismo de qualidade.

O eléctrico 28 foi seleccionado pela editora inglesa ROUGH GUIDE como uma das 1000 experiências mais importantes do mundo. Segue em baixo o texto na íntegra publicado na capítulo dedicado a Portugal. Este novo reconhecimento internacional vem reforçar a validade do projecto de devolver a Lisboa algumas das linhas de eléctricos encerradas no passado recente de que é exemplo o eléctrico 24.

Esperemos que muito em breve a CARRIS e a CML anunciem a boa notícia do regresso do eléctrico 24 aos carris de Lisboa, para o qual entregámos a V.Exa. no ano passado esta petição http://cidadanialx.blogspot.com/2008/05/entrega-de-petio-preabertura-do.html .

Com os melhores cumprimentos,



Fernando Jorge, Paulo Ferrero e Júlio Amorim



1000 ULTIMATE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME ON EARTH
A Rough Guide to the World
London, 2008

PORTUGAL:
-Clearing your calendar for bacalhau
-Exploring mystical Sintra
-Learning to surf on the Atlantic coast
-In search of the perfect tart
-Stop! It's hammer time at the Festa de São João
-Tram 28: taking a ride through Lisbon's historic quarters

«Tram 28: taking a ride through Lisbon's historic quarters»

Just as you should arrive in Venice on a boat, it is best to arrive in Lisbon on a tram, from the point where many people leave it for good: at Prazeres, by the city's picturesque main cemetery. Get a taxi to the suburban terminus of tram 28 for one of the most atmospheric public-transport rides in the world: a slow-motion roller coaster into the city's historic heart.

Electric trams first served Lisbon in 1901, though the route 28 fleet are remodelled 1930s versions. The polished wood interiors are gems of craftsmanship, from the grooved wooden floors to the shiny seats and sliding window panels. And the operators don't so much drive the trams as handle them like ancient caravels, adjusting pulleys and levers as the streetcar pitches and rolls across Lisbon's wavy terrain. As tram 28 rumbles past the towering dome of the Estrela Basilica, remember the famous bottoms that have probably sat exactly where you are: the writers Pessoa and Saramago, the singer Mariza, footballers Figo and Eusebio.

You reach central Lisbon at the smart Chiado district, glimpses of the steely Tagus flashing into view between the terracotta roof tiles and church spires. Suddenly you pitch steeply downhill, the tram hissing and straining against the gradients of Rua Vitor Cordon, before veering into the historic downtown Baixa district. Shoppers pile in and it's standing room only for newcomers, but those already seated can admire the row of traditional shops selling sequins and beads along Rua da Conceicao through the open windows.

Now you climb past Lisbon's ancient cathedral and skirt the hilltop castle, the vistas across the Tagus estuary below truly dazzling. The best bit of the ride is yet to come though, a weaving, grinding climb through the Alfama district, Lisbon's village-within-a-city where most roads are too narrow for cars. Entering Rua das Escolas Gerais, the street is just over tram width, its shopfronts so close that you can almost lean out and take a tin of sardines off the shelves. »

Imagem: o eléctrico 24 em 1983 na Rua D. Pedro V