A streetcar named nostalgia: Exploring Tram World Kolkata – The Hindu

Gariahat tram depot in south Kolkata is a place transformed. Till recently, this was an abandoned spot, almost a dumpyard, full of old rakes, wild growth and stench. As is common with prime land like this, there were whispers of it being sold as real estate.

Step in now and the junk has been used to create a cool hangout place. The four rakes installed here tell the story of Kolkata trams through photos and old equipment such as bells, duplex gauge, controller or amp meter, supplemented with tram history from around the world. The rakes — from 1938, 1975 and 1980 — have been carefully preserved so as not to alter the effect of years on them, adding to the nostalgic charm. The characteristic wooden seats are there, as are the ceiling fans and the round, black electric switches. A dated Bengali advertisement extols the virtues of Prince Bakery’s vitamin-enriched sliced bread. A copy of a photograph by Clyde Waddell, who captured the Calcutta of 1945 in a series of dramatic images, shows commuters in dhoti-kurta hanging from tram windows. Waddell said, “Indians are the bravest commuters in the world. They hang from every handhold.”

Tram World Kolkata is a project inaugurated in December last year by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) to commemorate 140 years of trams in Kolkata. It’s still a work in progress, with more rakes being readied for display. The aim, however, is not just to turn this into a museum or place of academic interest but also to create a new cultural hotspot.

Complicated relationship

“There will be cultural performances, a food court, display of art, a literature festival and more. It will be like Kala Ghoda of Mumbai or India Habitat Centre in Delhi,” says Rajanvir Singh Kapur, managing director, WBTC.

But in a city that feels so strongly about its past, why were the depot and its trams in a shambles in the first place? Even if the Gariahat depot has got a new lease of life, there are several others in different parts of the city that are still in a sorry state.

The answer lies in Kolkata’s complicated relationship with its trams. Like most things old and precious, trams too are celebrated in Kolkata, with events arranged regularly around them and news ones — like a tram with a library, air-conditioned trams, trams with Wi-Fi, or a tram

designed as a tribute to the jute industry — launched from time to time. That, however, has done precious little to reverse the decline of trams as an effective mode of commute. Routes have shrunk and the number of trams has declined steadily.

According to data collated by Calcutta Tram Users Association, from 37 routes covering 70 km in the 1960s, only six routes covering about 20 km remain operational. The number of operating trams has come down from about 180 in 2011 to about 37 in 2018 to less than 20 now. Only a handful of people use the tram to commute these days, leading to the oft-asked question: Will the Kolkata tram survive?

Clunky past

The weight of the past is clunky here. The tram’s journey began in 1880, when the Calcutta Tramways Company was registered in London. This was followed by the introduction of trams in many other Indian cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Patna. But it survived only in Kolkata.

No one can point out exactly when the decline started but Debashish Bhattacharyya, who has been actively campaigning for almost 20 years to save the tram, says that it was sometime in the 80s when tram routes were stalled temporarily for Metro construction work.

Way forward

By the end of the 80s, trams were on their way out for being too slow and unprofitable. In the 1990s, WBTC started operating buses. Gone was the provision of running more trams during peak hours. According to data collected by tram advocates, the number of commuters had dropped almost ten-fold by 2008.

However, by the beginning of this century, voices against the phasing out of trams were also getting louder, with activists promoting the tram both for its heritage value and lower pollution. This was boosted by an annual inter-cultural project called Tramjatra, launched in 1996, bringing together artists and tram communities from Melbourne and Kolkata.

But do these projects actually arrest the decline of trams?

Current usage data present a bleak picture. While Bhattacharya argues that trams will become viable only with added fleets and practical routes, Kapur says the way forward is to get younger people back on trams. With increased interest, the push for more routes will come naturally, he says.

Free Wi-Fi can definitely be a crowd-puller, but if there’s air-conditioning, the tram may no longer be a green alternative.

As far as Tram World is concerned, many curious visitors like Abhishek Acharyya, 29, are pleasantly surprised to see the erstwhile dumpyard turned into a potential hangout space. But those who were expecting this project to conserve some of the historic bogeys are upset. “They have put mostly serviceable trams on display rather than the beautiful wooden bogeys lying abandoned in various depots, waiting to be scrapped. This is disappointing,” says freelance film-maker Shagnik Gupta.

The writer is an independent journalist based in Kolkata.