70 people from the Aladina and Tengo Hogar Foundations board the ‘Train of Hope’ to celebrate Christmas with the Talgo Foundation and the Madrid Railway Museum.
The Spanish Railways Foundation and the Madrid Railway Museum have collaborated with the Talgo Foundation so that children with cancer from the Aladina Foundation and children at risk of social exclusion from the Tengo Hogar Foundation celebrate Christmas aboard a historic train during the 30th edition of the “Christmas Train” of the Railway Museum
.
Passengers enjoyed a one-hour journey on board this train, with entertainment and a Christmas show for the little ones. The train departed from the Railway Museum and, at the end of the journey, there was a
visit to the museum.
Spanish and Ukrainian refugee children suffering from cancer from the Aladina Foundation, together with children at risk of social exclusion from the Tengo Hogar association, took part in the ‘Train of Hope’ solidarity project, organised by the Talgo Foundation in collaboration with the Spanish Railway Foundation and the Madrid Railway Museum. This project is part of the well-known ‘Christmas Train’, organised by the Fundación de Ferrocarriles Españoles with the support of Adif and Renfe, which this year celebrates its 30th edition.
In total, 70 people were able to take a trip on a train provided by the Fundación de Ferrocarriles Españoles. The Christmas Train departed from the Railway Museum to Getafe and the little ones enjoyed a Christmas entertainment show and had the opportunity to tell the Royal Pages their wishes and ask them to deliver their letters to their Majesties the Three Wise Men.
After the journey, the attendees could visit the Madrid Railway Museum, located in the historic Delicias station, and enjoy an exhibition that shows different thematic areas related to railway traction, the Talgo II, track infrastructure and facilities, railway traffic control, the importance of time measurement in the railway world or the exhibition of scale models with trains in movement.
On behalf of Aladina, a benchmark foundation in our country in supporting children and adolescents with cancer and their families, 12 children attended, cancer patients from the Hospital Universitario Infantil Niño Jesús and La Paz, together with their families, as well as Ukrainian refugee children who also suffer from cancer. Tengo Hogar, an organisation that helps vulnerable families, offered this opportunity to 17 children at risk of social exclusion.
Gabriel Novela, managing director of the Talgo Foundation, states that ‘.we are proud to launch an initiative like this, which allows us to share a day of hope with children and families who are going through difficult situations. The ‘Train of Hope’ offers a day of fun and culture with a difference, and we would like to thank the Railway Museum, and the Aladina, Tengo Hogar and Spanish Railway Foundations for their collaboration and support for this special project.”.
The managing director of the Spanish Railways Foundation, Adrián Fernández, welcomed the young travellers’.to a Train in which Hope is a two-way trip’. According to Fernández, ‘the excitement that these children offer us older people is much greater than the joy that the Talgo Foundation and the Railway Foundation have been able to give them with this solidarity project.‘. The head of FFE also wanted to thank Aladina and Tengo Hogar for their commitment to the most disadvantaged and for making this ‘Train of Hope’ possible. ‘I trust that our collaboration will continue over time and that this will be the first solidarity train of many others’, concluded Fernández.
For her part, Ishtar Espejo, director of the Aladina Foundation, wanted to thank ’to the Talgo Foundation for counting on the children and adolescents with cancer that we care for in our Foundation. It is a privilege for us to have such prestigious organisations join our cause. We will be eternally grateful to you”.
The Talgo Foundation, created in 2013, has been collaborating for years with the Spanish Railway Foundation and the Railway Museum in different initiatives aimed at fostering passion for the railway sector, promoting it among young people and increasing its impact at a national and international level. The solidarity project ‘Train of Hope’ is being launched this year to bring joy and hope to those who need it most, at a very special time of year for the little ones.