Lisbon has a way of carrying its past without putting it behind glass.
Among its narrow streets and steep hills, the yellow trams still move through the city, following tracks that have witnessed generations come and go.
The story began long before the familiar electric trams became part of Lisbon’s identity. CARRIS was founded in 1872, when the city first introduced horse-drawn carriages running on rails. Electric tram service arrived on 31 August 1901.
More than a century later, some historic trams are still preserved.
One of them, Tram 444, dates from 1901. It has rattan seats and an ornamented wooden ceiling—details that belong to another age, yet have not entirely disappeared from the streets of Lisbon.
I find something beautiful in that.
We usually think of progress as replacing the old with the new. But perhaps a city can progress without erasing everything that came before it.
A tram can carry today’s passengers while carrying yesterday’s memory.
It passes a doorway where someone once waited for a loved one. It climbs a hill that has watched children grow old. It rings its bell, turns a corner, and continues.
The passengers change.
The city changes.
But for a few minutes, the tram remembers everyoneone.
All rights reserved by the author.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Writer | Author | Poet
Assam, India
