Trams in India were established in the late 19th century. Horse-drawntrams were introduced inKolkata in 1873; inMumbai, trams began operations in 1874; inNashik in 1889; electric trams began inChennai in 1895, and trams were also introduced inKanpur andDelhi. They were discontinued in all Indian cities between 1933 and 1964, except forKolkata.[1]
Trams inKolkata (formerly Calcutta),West Bengal are operated by theWest Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC). It is the only operating tram network in India[2] and the oldest operating electric tram in Asia, running since 1902.[3] There are 257 trams in total, of which 125 used to run daily on the Kolkata streets, but only 25 trams run daily nowadays.[4] The single-deck articulated cars can carry 200 passengers (60 seated).
The first horse-drawn trams in India ran a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) distance betweenSealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February 1873. The service was discontinued on 20 November of that year.[5] 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 byViceroy Ripon on 1 November 1880.[5] In 1882, steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars. By the end of the 19th century, the company owned 166 tram cars, 1,000 horses, seven steam locomotives and 19 miles of tram tracks.[5] In 1900, electrification of the tramway and reconstruction of its tracks to4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) began.[5] In 1902, the first electric tramcar in Calcutta ran fromEsplanade toKidderpore on 27 March and on 14 June from Esplanade toKalighat.
A mass public-transport system forMumbai (then Bombay) was proposed in 1865 by an American company, which applied for a licence to operate ahorse-drawntram system. Although a licence was granted, the project was never realised due to the city's economic depression.
The Bombay Tramway Company was set up in 1873. After a contract was signed between the Bombay Tramway Company, the municipality and the Stearns and Kitteredge company, the Bombay Presidency enacted the Bombay Tramways Act, 1874 licensing the company to run a horsecar tram service in the city.[6] On 9 May 1874, the first horse-drawn carriage made its début in the city, plying theColaba–Pydhone viaCrawford Market, andBori Bunder toPydhonie viaKalbadevi routes. The initial fare was threeannas (12paise pre-decimalisation), and no tickets were issued. As the service became increasingly popular, the fare was reduced to two annas (8 pre-decimalisation paise). Later that year, tickets were issued to curb increasing ticket-less travel.[7] Stearns and Kitteredge reportedly had a stable of 1,360 horses over the lifetime of the service.[8]
In 1899, the Bombay Tramway Company applied to the municipality to operate electric trams. In 1904, theBritish Electric Traction Company applied for a license to supply electricity to the city with the Brush Electrical Engineering Company its agent. It received the Bombay electric license on 31 July 1905, signed by Bombay Tramways Company, the Bombay Municipality and the Brush Electrical Company. In 1905, theBombay Electric Supply and Tramway Company (BEST) was formed. BEST received a monopoly on electric supply and an electric tram service in the city, and bought the Bombay Tramway Company's assets for₹9,850,000.[9] Two years later, the first electric tram debuted in the city. Later that year, a 4,300 kilowatts (5,800 hp)steam power generator was commissioned at Wari Bunder. In 1916, a power purchase fromTata Power (a private company) began, and by 1925, all power generation was outsourced from Tata.[10] To ease rush-hour traffic,double-decker trams were introduced in September, 1920. The trams met travellers' needs until the betterment of the city's train network, and the service closed on 31 March 1964.[11]
Chennai (then Madras) was the third city in India to get a tramway for passenger carriage. The firsthorse-drawntram service in Madras began operations in June, 1874, shortly after the opening of the tramway inBombay. The tramway used metre gauge tracks and operated on several routes, the chief of them being a route betweenRoyapuram andTriplicane. The tramway was in service for a few years, but like the early horse-drawn trams inCalcutta, it had to be discontinued due to poor financial returns.
Tramways saw a revival in the city with the opening of theMadras Electric Tramways in 1895, connecting the docks and the inland areas, carrying goods and passengers. When the system began on 7 May 1895, it was India's oldestelectric tram system and it is thefirstelectric tram system inIndia. The original conduit system was replaced by a conventional overhead wire system after a series of destructivemonsoons. The trams could carry heavy loads and were popular, with thousands of riders daily. The route includedMount Road,Parry's Corner,Poonamallee Road and theRipon Building. At its height in 1921, 97 cars ran on 24 kilometres (15 mi) of track. The tram company went bankrupt about 1950, and the system closed on 12 April 1953.[11]
Nashik was the fourth city in India afterChennai,Kolkata andMumbai to get trams in 1889. Trams inNashik (then Nasik) were built in 1889 as2 ft 6 in (762 mm)narrow gauge. The consulting engineer wasEverard Calthrop, later known with theBarsi Light Railway. Originally, the tram used two carriages pulled by four horses. It ran from the present Old Municipal Corporation building on Main Road to theNasik Road railway station, a distance of 8 to 10 km. The stretch between Nashik and Nashik Road was jungle-covered, and the only mode of transport from the station to the city was horse-drawn carriage or one of two taxis. The tram originated from the Old Municipal Corporation building located on Main Road, and terminated at theNashik Road railway station (8–10 km). It passed through the areas of Ganjamal (the now defunct bus stop was earlier a tram stop) and behind Fame Multiplex. Brady’s; a private company funded the project and later introduced India’s first petrol engine driven tram under the aegis of Nasik Tramway Co. The tramway closed down in around 1933 owing to the successive years of famine and plague, it had run into heavy losses.[12][13][14]
In June 1907, trams were introduced inKanpur (then Cawnpore). There were 4 miles (6.4 km) of track and 20 single-deck open trams. The single-track line connected the railway station with Sirsaya Ghat on the banks of theGanges. Photographs of Cawnpore trams are rare. The introductory stock was electric-traction single-coach; single-coach trams were also used in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The service was discontinued on 16 May 1933.[11]
TheCochin State Forest Tramway was a1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge[15][16][17] forest tramway running from theParambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary inPalakkad district toChalakudy inThrissur district. Operating from 1907 to 1963, it served thenCochin state (now part of Kerala) and broughtteak androsewood from forests for global shipment.[18][19]
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Trams inDelhi began operation on 6 March 1908. At its zenith in 1921, there were 24 open cars on 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) of track.Jama Masjid,Chandni Chowk,Chawri Bazaar, Katra Badiyan,Lal Kuan, Delhi and Fatehpuri were linked with Sabzi Mandi,Sadar Bazar,Paharganj,Ajmeri Gate, Bara Hindu Rao andTis Hazari.[20] The system closed in 1963 due to urban congestion.[11]
Patna hadhorse-drawn trams as urban transport.[21] The tram in Patna ran in the populated area of Ashok Rajpath, from Patna City toBankipore, with its western terminus atSabzibagh (opposite the Pirbahore police station). It was discontinued in 1903, due to low ridership, and plans to extend the route westward never materialised.
Bhavnagar had a2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge tram built byBhavnagar State. The first section was built in 1926 fromBhavnagar south toTalaja, and was extended toMahuva in 1938. The total length of the tramway was 67.5 miles (108.6 km). The tramway used small4-8-0 locomotives later classified as T class. In 1947, the tramway was taken over by theSaurashtra Railway, and later by theWestern Railway.[22] It was closed during the 1960s.
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