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Caltrain Freedom Train, Commemorating 1965 Selma March, to Shut Down

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Martin Luther King, Jr., three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing front, at a 1964 press conference. / World Telegram & Sun photo by Walter Albertin

One of the Bay Area's most recognizable tributes to the civil rights era is ending next month.

Organizers of the Freedom Train, a Caltrain ride from San Jose's Diridon Station to San Francisco on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, say the ride in January will be its last.

The Freedom Train commemorates the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. There used to be other Freedom Trains nationwide but the one here, which has been in existence for more than three decades, is the last of its kind, says Kathleen Flynn, president of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley.

Flynn says the ride is shutting down after the 2015 event due to a lack of community interest and participation, along with a lack of sponsorship.

In 2014, last-minute ticket buyers helped boost ridership on the train. But Flynn said the 2015 ride would be the last, nonetheless.

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A round-trip ticket for the Jan. 19 ride costs $10.

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