Kolkata trams may return under BJP; survey ordered, says transport minister

KOlkata’s electricity-driven trams, started by the british people in 1873 and closed land in 2024 below the Trinamool us congress (TMC) government, except on two routes, may make a comeback under the Bharatiya Janata Party, transport minister Arjun Singh said on Sunday.“We want to revive the environment-friendly public transport system. RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service) has been asked to conduct a survey,” Singh said.Transport department officials said the state plans to renovate the old tracks first and then develop a model to operate modern carriages, similar to those seen in Australia and some European cities, to promote tourism in addition to serving as a daily mode of transport.A public sector undertaking (PSU) under the ministry of railways, RITES offers engineering and consultancy services in transport infrastructure, including roads, airports and railways.“There used to be 40 routes during the Left Front government but only a limited number of trams currently operate on two routes: one from Gariahat to Esplanade via Park Circus in south Kolkata, and another from Shyambazar to Esplanade in the north. The feasibility study will determine if some of the old routes can be revived through modernisation,” a transport department official said, requesting anonymity.Also Read:‘Anti-social activity’, Uniform Civil Code: A look at key bills set to tabled in Bengal next weekThe West Bengal Transport Corporation Limited (WBTCL) has run the tram services since 2016 when it took over the original Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC), which the British government formed and registered in London on December 20, 1880.According to WBTCL records, the first horse-drawn tram was launched on February 24, 1873, running 3.9km between Sealdah and the Armenian Ghat (jetty). It shut down in November that year and returned with metre gauge tracks on the Sealdah-Bowbazar-Dalhousie-Armenian Ghat route in November 1880.In 1882, steam engine driven trams were introduced and were replaced by the electricity powered trams in 1900. CTC built its own power station at the Nonapukur tram depot, which is still operational, however, Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, Kolkata’s sole power supplier to date, started powering the trams in 1927.In 1922 CTC introduced buses, which were later discontinued.In February 1943, the tram services were linked to Howrah, bringing the total length of the tracks in the two cities to 68km, according to records.After independence, the state passed an Act in 1952 stating that it would take over CTC’s management from the British in 15 years.By 1960, CTC had 450 operational trams. The British management left India in 1967.An integral part of Kolkata’s landscape and British-Indian history, trams featured in many movies, including Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar, Ritwik Ghatak’s Bari Theke Paliye and Mrinal Sen’s Interview, Calcutta 71 and Padatik, and popular Bollywood movies such as Piku, Kahaani, Barfi and Yuva.New routes were added and several old routes were discontinued over the next five decades as new modes of transport such as the metro railways (Kolkata was the first Indian city to have it), triggered a sharp fall in tram users.“Loss in revenue and rising maintenance costs prompted the government to shut down all the tram routes except the two that still operate as a symbol of Kolkata’s heritage,” an official said.