The Kolkata tramcar: Not only a mode of transport but also a network of social relationships

Once heralded as the harbinger of modernity, the iconic tramcars of Kolkata face the ire of the State authorities which have no empirical grounding

Sagnik Bhaduri, Kolkata,West Bengal

Geoffrey Moorhouse, the eminent English journalist and a prolific author with a gifted pen, wrote in his seminal account of the city of joy, “Calcutta: The City Revealed”, that the story of Calcutta mirrored the story of India. Spanning across a timespan of almost 150 years, trams have indeed woven themselves seamlessly into the social and cultural fabric of the city and, thus, are a testament to the transition of “Calcutta” to “Kolkata. Hence, it’s nothing short of a sacrilege to relegate these vehicles as mere modes of transport and do away with their sociological colouration.

With the first horse-drawn trams making an appearance in 1880, alongside the formation of the CTC (Calcutta Tram Company), electric trams emerged in Calcutta in the year 1902 when the high noon of the British Raj was distributed unevenly across the land and the sun was uneven. Post-independence, the CTC was run from London and did not cease to be listed on the London Stock Exchange till 1968. Even the cars were built under names, “Burn Standard” and, “Jessop”, all of which reflected the vestiges of a colonial past.

However, the recent chain of events led the State authorities, during September 2024, sought to do away with trams as a mode of transport owing to concerns of congestion. According to reports, tram services in the city have witnessed a manifold decline from 52 routes in 1970 to 25 routes in 2015 and, contemporarily only three. This sparked a PIL being filed demanding that the intrinsically unique character of the Kolkata trams makes a compelling case to preserve the age-old vehicle system. In response, on January 14,2025, the Calcutta High Court’s verdict pronounced, “There should be a political will to preserve the cultural heritage and ethos of the city of Kolkata,” under a division bench presided by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam. Furthermore, the bench consisting of Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya also remarked that the tram tracks which were illegally bituminised, under the complicity of the, “appropriate State authorities”, must be restored.

The tram as a medium of sustainable development discourse

While jurists and activists have quite relevantly highlighted the social and cultural significance of the tram in public memory, a prominent perspective is descending into a spiral of silence. While around the globe societies are grappling with the alarming realities of greenhouse gas emissions, a manifold increase in the frequency of fuel-powered vehicles, the tram cars and their networks serve a sustainable and low-cost transport model, in order to fare well instead of just faring forward, if adapted to the changing times. Kolkata which has one of the oldest tram systems akin to Melbourne whose tram systems can be traced back to 1885.While Melbourne has revamped its tram system despite bureaucratic pressures via adopting upgraded systems and solar-powered trams, the Indian trams suffer from underdevelopment by design with the machinery having turned rudimentary over the years or the signs inside like-“Beware of pickpockets”, “To stop the car only ring the bell once”,etc. ,not being replaced by new ones. The grand old tram conductor from Australis or the tram reformist Mr. Roberto D’ Andrea, who has transcended national boundaries by cultivating a Kolkata-Melbourne tram friendship, voiced his concern over the decision of the State Government. He said, “It’s a huge backward step as cities worldwide are ‘decarbonising transport’ because of global warming and climate change.” Andrea’s statement is quite relevant as in China, over 25 cities have posed a resistance to the neoliberal hegemony and the Western parameter of development that does away with the concerns of greenhouse gas emissions. Although closed down during the 1960’s, the Beijing Tram network has been refurbished, since 2017, so as to foster eco-friendly transport. Even the Shanghai tram network, whose operations were in an interregnum in 1975, has been reinstated and thrives amidst an extensive portion of the city.

However, a stark contrast is visible in context to the scene in Kolkata. In 2019, the city was a recipient of the C40 Cities “Green Mobility” award from Copenhagen. The mayor Firhad Hakim’s statements were committed towards making the city’s oldest mechanism of public transport from yore the key vision in terms of the city’s transportation all-electric by 2030.But this mirrors a contradiction when the State authorities continue to invest in electric buses, cars and the underground metro despite proclaiming trams as the “green” mode of transport.

Role of the civil society

The Calcutta Tram Users Association (CTUA), a civil society group formed in December 2016 during the 20^th anniversary Kolkata Melbourne Tramjatra festival, has played an instrumental role in preserving trams for posterity. Debashish Bhattacharyya, an academician simultaneously donning the self of being the CTUA President, states that trams have significantly connected the city’s heart by joining schools, hospitals and cinemas. The city’s ever thriving cultural sphere has played a crucial role in order to advance the cause of preserving the iconic vehicle which reflects the multitude of social bonds which has been created owing to the tram.“My exposure to tram journey began with my coming to Kolkata from a different state in 1974, when I started my academic journey in the University of Calcutta. My nostalgia is linked to many things: its serpentine route in the city from Galiff Street in the north to Ballygunge Railway station in the south, with its peripheral ancillaries to Park Circus, Kidderpore, the heart of the city … Dalhousie square, and across the Ganges to Howrah station passing the canty lever bridge that connects the twin cities, and obviously the important landmarks like 5 point Shyambazar crossing, Sealdah station, Curzon Park,  the Maidan flanked by the Fort William and the main city on both sides,” said Dr. Gautam Kumar Bera , a hexagenerian sociologist and social anthropologist, formerly Tagore National Fellow of  the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Furthermore, Dr. Bera, whose thoughts are sporadic yet authentic, opined, “The carriage had two classes as if it is meant for elites and commoners, an inbuilt hierarchy socially designed with the benefit of overhead fan in the First class and a better accommodative seating module. Obviously, the fare varied. Attitudes varied among passengers in this class system, that could only be felt, not overtly expressed. Trams tend to have a limited speed. Hence, one could enjoy the gentle cool breeze; in those days the city did not reek with pollution vehicle movement was constricted. If asked personally, I enjoyed tram journey over a bus ride, that too in second class with a less fare. Students saved money by this way”. Roberto D’ Andrea has been one of the persistent voices behind the conception of the Kolkata-Melbourne Tramjatra festival when in 1996, the erstwhile CPIM government, helmed by the then CM Jyoti Basu, expressed its inclinations to inadvertently suspend tram operations. Thus, was born a group of resilient activists who avowedly demonstrated against the move by the the-then state government.

Contemporarily as the current ruling Trinamool Congress, under CM Mamata Banerjee, attempted to cripple the tram network, the CTUA emanated a spark of resilience by organizing, with grandeur, the Tramjatra festival from March 28-31,2025. Quite profoundly, this year’s festival seamlessly offered a profound social commentary pertaining to the environmental significance of trams in combatting and resisting regional climate crises from engulfing the Sunderbans and West Bengal. Roberto D’ Andrea alongside filmmaker Mahadeb Shi, who served as a co-curator to the gala event, expressed how trams can play a fulsome role between Australia and India to foster amity via facilitating strong interpersonal bonds, tickets displaying biodiversity and the presence of colourful trams.

“While being wary about the Sunderbans and Kolkata regional climate cris, we are hoping to provoke global citizens to bear witness to the challenges here, and pressure societies to act justly and promptly with accountability and transparency. Art can inspire hearts and minds where credible science has been unable to,” said Mick Douglas,a professor from RMIT, Melbourne and simultaneously another co-curator to the festival.