the trams of kolkata

yesterday I took my 1st ride on a tram in Kolkata. It was a nice experience. Passing past the Maidan, it was great to see a stretch of open green amid the concrete jungles of Kolkata...

Back at home I got down to collect some information on the trams of Kolkata.

The Calcutta Tramways Company (1978) Limited (CTC) is a West Bengal, India government-run company which runs trams in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) and buses in and around Kolkata. The Kolkata tram is the oldest operating electric tram in Asia, running since 1902.

Horse-drawn trams in Kolkata, India (life-size model at City Centre arcade)

Timeline:

1873

An attempt was made to run a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) tramway service between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February. The service was not adequately patronised, and was discontinued on 20 Nov.

1880

The Calcutta Tramway Co. Ltd was formed and registered in London on 22 December. Metre-gauge horse-drawn tram tracks were laid from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat via Bowbazar Street, Dalhousie Square and Strand Road. The route was inaugurated by the Viceroy, Lord Ripon, on 1 November.

1882

Steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars. By the end of the nineteenth century the company owned 166 tram cars, 1000 horses, seven steam locomotives and 19 miles of tram tracks.

1900

Electrification of the tramway, and reconstruction of tracks to 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) was begun.

1902

The first electric tramcar in Asia ran from Esplanade to Kidderpore on 27 March, and on 14 June from Esplanade to Kalighat.

1903

The Kalighat line was extended to Tollygunje, the Esplanade line to Belgachhia (via Bidhan Sarani, Shyambazar), and the Esplanade to Shialdaha route (via Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Rajib Gandhi Sarani and [present] Mahatma Gandhi Road) opened.

1904

Esplanade to Bagbazar route through College Street opened.

1905

Howrah Station to Bandhaghat route was opened to trams in June. Electrification project completed.

1906

Bowbazar Junction to Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Ahiritola Junction to Hatibagan Junction routes opened.

1908

Lines to Shibpur via G.T. Road prepared. Esplanade to Shialdaha station via Moula Ali Junction, Moula Ali Junction to Nonapukur, Wattganj Junction to J.Das Park Junction (via Alipur), Mominpur Junction to Behala routes opened.

1910

Shialdaha Station to Rajabazar route opened.

1915

Mirzapur Junction to Bowbazar Junction and Shialdaha Station to Lebutala Junction routes opened.

1920

Strand Road Junction to High Court route opened.

1923

S.C.Mallik Square Junction to Park Circus route (via Royd Street, Nonapukur) opened.

1925

Barhabazar Junction to Nimtala route opened.

1928

Kalighat to Baliganj route opened.

1930

Park Circus line extended to Garhiahat Junction.

1941

Rajabazar line extended to Galiff Street.

1943

The Calcutta system was connected with the Howrah section through the new Howrah Bridge in February. With this extension, the total track length reached 42.0 miles (67.59 km).

1951

The government of West Bengal entered into an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Company, and the Calcutta Tramways Act of 1951 was enacted. The government assumed all rights regarding the Tramways, and reserved the right to purchase the system (with two years' notice) on 1 January 1972 or any time thereafter.

1967

The Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta Tramways Company (Taking Over of Management) Act and assumed management on 19 July. On 8 November 1976 the Calcutta Tramways (Acquisition of Undertaking) ordinance was promulgated, under which the company (and its assets) united with the government.

1970

The Howrah sections were closed in October; the 1971/1973 Nimtala route was closed down in May 1973, and realignment of the Howrah Station terminus occurred. Total track length was now reduced to 38 miles (61.2 km).

1980

Tram tracks on Bentinck Street and Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay Road closed for construction of the Kolkata metro; following construction, these stretches were not reopened. Overhead wires were present until 1994 on Bentinck Street. Tracks on Jawaharlal Nehru Road remained after realignment, making a new terminus at Birla Planetarium; the Birla Planetarium route closed in 1991. An overpass was constructed on that road in 2006.

1982

The Sealdah Station terminus (along with the Sealdaha – Lebutala stretch on Bipin Bihari Gangopadhyay Street) closed for construction of an overpass. The site is now occupied by Sealdah Court and a bus terminal.

1985

On 17 April, tracks were extended connecting Manicktola to Ultadanga via Manicktola Main road and C. I. T. Road 3.7 km (2.30 mi). This was the first Tramways extension since 1947.

1986

On 31 December, further extension of tram tracks from Behala to Joka was completed.

1992

Calcutta Tramways Company undertook a new venture by introducing bus service from 4 November, initially with a fleet of 40 buses.

1993

Howrah Station terminus closed and tram tracks removed on Howrah Bridge; the cantilever bridge proved too weak for trams. All routes terminated there were shortened to the Barhabazar (Howrah Bridge) terminus (formerly Barhabazar Junction).

1995

High Court terminus closed for reconstruction of Strand Road. Rails and wires were removed from there and from Strand Road, Hare Street and Shahid Kshudiram Basu Road. The site is now occupied by the newest building of the Kolkata High Court.

2004

Garhiahat Depot – Garhiahat Junction link on Gariahat Road closed for construction of the Gariahat overpass.

2006

Mominpur – Behala stretch on Diamond Harbour Road closed for construction of an overpass at Taratala. Initially, there was a plan to route tracks on that overpass after its completion, but the road was later converted to a National Highway and the plan dismissed. The Behala – Joka stretch is still in existence, along with the Behala terminus.

2007

Wattgunge Junction – Mominpur Diamond Harbour Road, Mominpur – Jatin Das Park Judges Court Road, Jatin Das Park – Kalighat Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road routes closed for reconstruction. As of October 2011, they have not yet reopened.

2008

Galiff Street terminus realigned. Irregular service from Bagbazar to Galiff Street converted to regular by Route 7/12. Rails and wires removed from part of Bidhan Sarani route (restored by end of year).

Advantages and criticism

Electric trams were the sole public transport until 1920, when the public bus was introduced in Kolkata. However, tram service until the 1950s was quite smooth and comfortable (although most new lines and extensions were built in pre-independence India). In 1950 there were around 300 tram cars, which were regularly operated on many routes in Kolkata and Howrah. Single-car trams operated on the Shibpur line until its closure; all other lines had double cars. Due to the large number of tram cars, the trams ran frequently (about a 5- to 7-minute wait between trams on all routes). This was possible due to less motor traffic on the roads than today. Derailments were very rare because of careful maintenance. All checkups were done at night, the water car was used for track smoothing and the tower car for wire-checking. Each tram was washed in the depot daily. Breakdown vans and overhead-wire inspection vans were ready at many junctions for quick repairs. Regular inspection of tracks, wires and so forth was done carefully. Tracks and track-bed gravel were replaced periodically for smoother service. Anti-tram sentiment began about 1955, and spread around the world. Many countries (both developed and developing) began closing their tram systems, and India was no exception. Tram service closed in Kanpur in 1933, Chennai in 1955, Delhi in 1962 and Mumbai in 1964. Kolkata's network survived, but in a truncated form. At the same time the automobile boom began, quickly spreading throughout India. Many streets were narrow (which was acceptable for tram service), but now cars, buses and lorries also used those roads. The government considered closing the trams, as an alternative to controlling motor traffic. Some routes (Bandhaghat, Shibpur and Nimtala) were closed for that reason, although traffic jams have not been alleviated. Many streets in Kolkata which have no tram line experience daily gridlock. Although most track beds have been converted from stone to concrete, earlier paving of Strand Road closed the High Court route. Construction of the subway line also destroyed an important north-south connection, from Lalbazar to Jatin Das Park via Esplanade and Birla Planetarium. The development of overpasses is another reason for the decline of Kolkata trams. The Sealdah, Gariahat and Taratala overpasses were the main cause for the closing of the Sealdah terminus, Gahriahat link and the Joka route (which also made way for a national highway). There were many closures between 1970 and 1980, and many thought that it was the beginning of the end for trams in Kolkata, but the situation changed after 1990. At that time, many cities around the world began reevaluating tram service. Greater numbers of automobiles increased air pollution. High prices of petrol and diesel fuel on the international market also made electric-powered street rail more attractive. Trams have many advantages:

• Clean and green – enhances the environment; no emissions at street level
• Safe – less prone to accidents
• Speedy – short trip times
• Avoid traffic congestion – through segregation and priority of routes
• Smooth and comfortable
• Pedestrian-friendly
• Civilizing – a city transported by trams is a less lonely place
• Acceptable and accepted – only rail-borne modes of transport can actually get people out of cars
• Reassuring – tram lines give confidence in accessibility
• High capacity – only metro systems have higher carrying capacity
• Affordable – the cheapest form of comfortable mass transit
• Versatile – can run at high speeds on rights-of-way way and can reach inner-city historic centers
• Adaptable – can cope with steep grades and tight curves
• Inspiring – modern trams can be aesthetically pleasing
• Heritage – Tramcars are a part of history.^[2]

Some political leaders (and many environmentalists) favored tram service. As a result the Kolkata tram survived, but not as robustly as it did before 1970. Tramways in Kolkata are now suffering, due to motor traffic and the outdated business model of its operators (the CTC and the government of West Bengal), although there has been some conversion of trackbed from stone to concrete and renovation of rolling stock. Trams were the brainchild of the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. His motives were to ensure better public transport for the native people, better passage of goods from ports and dockyards to their respective destinations, and rapid mobilisation of police contingents to sites of anti-British protests. Thus, trams were the first mode of police transportation in Kolkata since police cars, vans, buses, lorries and armoured cars were not been introduced until 1917. The trams of Kolkata had played a major role in stopping Hindu-Muslim riots during the pre-independence era; in contrast, many trams were also burned by local people as an act of protest against colonial rule, since the tram was viewed by many Indians as a "British" import. Even after independence, during the 1960s many trams were burned for raising fares by only one paise (1/100 Rupee). The Kolkata tramway has many vintage features. It still uses a trolley pole and foot gong (after a failed experiment with electric horn during the late 1980s), which is rare among international tram systems (except heritage tramways and standard networks like Hong Kong and Toronto). It has tram cars with no front glass or destination board – instead, iron route-boards hang from the front iron net. The last new rolling stock was manufactured in 1987 by Jessop India Ltd, and many trams from 1939 are still running. The recent de-reservation of tram tracks flies in the face of international trends. Although trams are faster, and derailments rare, it is often impossible to get up or down from a moving tram on wide roads such as Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Road, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Basu Road, Acharya Satyendra Nath Basu Sarani, Satin Sen Sarani, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Lila Roy Sarani, Rash Behari Avenue, Deshapran Birendra Shasmal Road or Shyama Prasad Mukhopadhyay Road. Only one new branch (Bidhannagar) and one extension (the short-lived Joka) were built after independence, and no extension of the network is planned. With a mix of good and bad, however, the Kolkata tram is still running as Asia's oldest operating electric tram and the only tram in India.

 The Tram poem