Trams in Kolkata

1873–1901: Horse-drawn trams

Life-size model of a horse-drawn tram at the City Centre arcade

The first horse-drawn trams in India ran for 2.4 miles (3.9 km) between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February 1873. The service was discontinued on 20 November of that year.^[2] The Calcutta Tramway Company was formed and registered in London on 22 December 1880. 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 1880.^[2] In 1882, steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars. By the end of the century, the company owned 166 tram cars, 1,000 horses, seven steam locomotives and 19 miles of track.^[2]

1900–1951: Electric trams

A Calcutta tram

A tram in 1945

In 1900, the electrification of the tramway and conversion of its tracks to 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) began.^[2] The first electric tramcar in India ran from Esplanade to Kidderpore on 27 March 1902, with service from Esplanade to Kalighat introduced on 14 June of that year. The Kalighat line was extended to Tollygunge, the Esplanade line to Belgachia (via Bidhan Sarani, Shyambazar), and the Esplanade to Sealdah route (via Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Rajib Gandhi Sarani and present-day Mahatma Gandhi Road) opened the following year. In 1904, the Esplanade to Bagbazar route through College Street opened. In June 1905, the Howrah Station to Bandhaghat route opened and the electrification project was completed.^[2] In 1906, the Bowbazar Junction to Binay Badal Dinesh Bag and the Ahiritola Junction to Hatibagan Junction routes opened.

Two years later, lines to Shibpur via G.T. Road were laid and the Esplanade to Sealdah station (via Moula Ali Junction), Moula Ali Junction to Nonapukur, Wattganj Junction to Jatin Das Park Junction (via Alipur) and Mominpur Junction to Behala routes opened. The Sealdah Station to Rajabazar route opened in 1910. In 1915, the Mirzapur Junction to Bowbazar Junction and Sealdah Station to Lebutala Junction routes opened. Five years later, the Strand Road Junction to High Court route opened. In 1923, the S. C. Mallik Square Junction to Park Circus route (via Royd Street, Nonapukur) opened. The Kalighat to Ballygunge route opened in 1928. In 1930, the Park Circus line was extended to Garhiahat Junction. The Rajabazar line was extended to Galiff Street in 1941. In February 1943, the Calcutta and Howrah sections were connected by the new Howrah Bridge. With this extension, total track length reached 42.0 miles (67.59 km).^[2]

1951–1990: Nationalisation

In 1951, the government of West Bengal entered an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Company and the Calcutta Tramways Act of 1951 was enacted. The government assumed the tramways, reserving the right to purchase the system with two years' notice on 1 January 1972 or at any time thereafter.^[2] In 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) was nationalised.^[2] The Howrah sections were closed in October 1970; the 1971–1973 Nimtala route was closed in May 1973, and the Howrah Station terminus was realigned. Total track length was now reduced to 38 miles (61.2 km).^[2]

In 1980, the routes on Bentinck Street and Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay Road closed for construction of the Kolkata metro and were not reopened. Two years later, the Sealdah Station terminus and the Sealdah–Lebutala route on Bipin Bihari Ganguli Street closed for the construction of an overpass; the site is now occupied by Sealdah Court and a bus terminal. On 17 April 1985, tracks were extended 3.7 km (2.30 mi) from Maniktala to Ultadanga via Maniktala Main road and C. I. T. Road.^[2] On 31 December 1986, the route extension from Behala to Joka was completed.^[2]

1990–present

Calcutta Tramways Company introduced bus service on 4 November 1992 with a fleet of 40 buses.^[2] The Howrah Station terminus closed and the tram tracks were removed on Howrah Bridge the following year, since the cantilever bridge was not strong enough for trams. The routes which terminated there were moved to the Burrabazar (Howrah Bridge) terminus (formerly Burrabazar Junction).

The system had degraded by the 1990s, and Minister for Transport Shyamal Chakraborty planned to close the network. However, Melbourne tram conductor Roberto D'Andrea befriended fellow Calcutta conductors during a 1994 visit. When D'Andrea heard about the planned network closure, he suggested an art project to decorate the trams (as was done in his home city). The project increased public awareness of the network and its value, ultimately saving it.^[7]

In 1995, the High Court terminus closed for the reconstruction of Strand Road. Rails and wires were removed from there and from Strand Road, Hare Street and Shahid Khudiram Basu Road, and it is now the site of the newest Kolkata High Court building. In 2004, the Garhiahat Depot–Garhiahat Junction link on Gariahat Road closed for construction of the Gariahat overpass. Two years later, the Mominpur–Behala route on Diamond Harbour Road closed for the construction of an overpass at Taratala. Although it was initially planned to route tracks on the overpass after its completion, the road was later converted to a national highway and the plan was dismissed. The Wattgunge Junction– Mominpur Diamond Harbour Road, Mominpur–Jatin Das Park Judges Court Road and the Jatin Das Park–Kalighat Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road routes were closed for reconstruction in 2007, and the Galiff Street terminus was realigned the following year. Irregular service from Bagbazar to Galiff Street became regular service with Route 7/12. Rails and overhead lines were removed from part of the Bidhan Sarani route and restored by the end of 2008.

In 2009, tracks on R. G. Kar Road from the Shyambazar five-point crossing to the Belgachia depot closed for reconstruction. The Joka-Behala route and the Behala depot closed for construction of the Joka-BBD Bag metro project two years later, and the Ballygunge-Kalighat route closed for reconstruction. The Lalbazar-Mirjapur down line was closed, but the up line remained. The Behala–Joka route and the Behala terminus were closed in 2012. On 30 September 2014, a tram converted into a museum opened to the public.^[8] The Park Circus depot closed for construction of the Park Circus Flyover in 2015, and the Nonapukur Depot reopened; the Garhiahat Depot remained. The following year, the Gariahat section reopened after 12 years and the depot next to Gariahat Mall opened.