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History of trams dates back to decades before this in the colonial era when horse-driven trams were first introduced in the UK. Steam locomotives were deployed experimentally in Calcutta in to haul tram cars. Two decades later, the introduction of the electricity-driven tram in came as a revolution, and since then trams in Kolkata were born.
Source History of Trams in Kolkata In its heyday, it had the distinction of having the first electric tramcar to run in Asia. More specifically, it was run from the Esplanade tram depot.
One of the defining moments in the history of the Calcutta tramways was when the first electric tram in Asia ran in Kolkata between Esplanade and Kidderpore. Soon after, the tracks were extended, and service from Esplanade to Kalighat was introduced.
Over the next decade, numerous other routes were established and became famous. Soon after this, the trams were connected to yet another station near Calcutta with the advent of the Esplanade to Sealdah station route. With this extension, the total track length now clocked in at In , the tram became the first vehicle to cross over the newly constructed Howrah Bridge that would soon become an icon of Kolkata. Source As time went by, the tram routers spread like a web to cover the entire city of Kolkata and beyond.
Over time several routes were closed for a variety of reasons. The route is passing through the Howrah Bridge, for instance, was closed because it was thought that the bridge would soon be unable to bear the load. As the Kolkata metro was constructed and gained popularity, the tram saw a decline.
This, unfortunately, resulted in more routes being shut down, at times permanently. There are also nine terminals and a workshop for trams in Kolkata. Top Hotels In Kolkata. The 4. Come 8 am, and it was time for school. While the senior students would crowd second-class carriages to save pocket money first class meant premium fares those days , the younger lot would sit with their mothers in the first class.
Then came the peak hours, when the babus, lawyers and group D employees would ride trams to the central business district. There was, however, a class distinction here too. Who would ride which class depended purely on the rank and salary. After that began the return journeys, starting with schoolkids and ending late at night with office-goers and other commuters. A km stretch connecting south Kolkata and the central business district was temporarily shut down in to facilitate construction of the Metro network.
The tram line along that stretch never reopened. The next nail in the coffin came in the following decade when the Calcutta Tramways Company decided to introduce a bus service to reduce losses. Next, to add to the woes of the service were Kolkata Traffic Police , who called for shutdown of several tram routes in subsequent years to reduce traffic congestion in the city. In fact, according to a survey, the number of tram commuters in that year had dropped to just 77, as opposed to around 7.
It has been a downslide ever since. A battle not yet lost CTC officials at their Mangoe Lane headquarters are ready to wage a war to save the tramway till the last tram is withdrawn from city roads. What traffic rules?
According to the rulebook, since a tram runs on tracks, anyone hit by it is a trespasser, so the driver is not at fault. Moreover, even if a tram derails and that results in a traffic accident, the driver still gets a clean chit. Absent badges.
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