Kolkata Tramway : The only Tramway in India : the heritage of kolkata :

Calcutta Tramway:

Calcutta Tramway develops as the first organization in the public transport system. As a business and business center for British investors and traders, Calcutta was developing very fast. Yet it was palanquin, horse carriage and privately owned animal transport vehicles. Calcutta Corporation, with the approval of the 9th Act of 1867 (Act IX) and the financial assistance of the Bangla Government, initiated the development of public transport system. As a direct result of this, the Calcutta Tramway was introduced. The tram for the first time in 24 February 1873, on the streets of Calcutta. Horses are running from Sealdah to Boubazar and Dalhousie squares, to Armenia Ghat. It was used only for passengers.

Despite the efforts of the corporation, it was not economically profitable, and signed the contract with the three famous industrialists of England (Robinson Suter, Alfred Parse and Delwine Perry) on October 2, 1879. They got the right to invest in the construction and maintenance of the tramway in Calcutta. The treaty was approved by the 1880 Calcutta Tramway Act. Registered in London, the Calcutta Tramway Company was established in 1880.

The Bengali government and the Calcutta Corporation on November 1, 1880, allowed the company to run the tram. The decision was taken from Sealdah railway station to Dalhousie Square to Chandpur Ghat. But due to the completion of the entire tramlain by November, the tram only moved from Sealdah to Dalhousie Square for the first few days. However, eight lines were established by 1884. These are: Sealdah, Chitpur and Chowrangi in 1881; Dharmatla, Stadrod, Shyambazar and Khidirpur in 1882 and Wellesley line in 1884. Between 1882 and 1884, steam-driven trams ran in Khidirpur and Chowringhee areas for very little time. However, the horse-riding trams are running on lines.

In 1896, M / s Kilburn and Company got permission to run the first electric tram from the Calcutta Corporation. Proposals were adopted in 1899 and electrification completed in Calcutta Tramway in 1902. In the same year, the first time in the Khidirpur area, electricity was operated.

An extraordinary improvement in the tramway in Kolkata has been achieved when the electricity is complete. The Kolkata Tramway Act (Howrah) started in 1905 by expanding the way of connecting the tramway in Howrah area. In 1926 the Calcutta Tramway Company got the right to operate a bus service in Calcutta, although the project was later canceled. By 1943, the network of tram service spread throughout Calcutta, which ranged from Tollygunj to Galifestreett and Shibpur (Howrah) to Rajabazar.

Since 1920, the workers of the Calcutta Tramway are actively engaged in trade unions. In 1920, Calcutta tramway workers formed their first organization 'Calcutta Tramway Employees Union'. In 1927, the Calcutta Tramway Employees Union was reconstituted in the name of the new Calcutta Tramway Workers Union. The followers of early Marxist theory were Bhupendranath Datta and Phanindra Kumar Sannal respectively, and its founding president and secretary respectively. Later, some communist leaders like Somnath Lahiri, Bankim Mukherjee and Muhammad Ismail joined the union. Calcutta Tramway Workers participated in the terrorist movement against foreign management in 1939, 1945 and 1947 under the influence of left-wing trade union leaders. However, in Calcutta riots, the Calcutta tramway staff played a significant role in maintaining Hindu-Muslim harmony.

After the independence of India, negotiations between the company and the West Bengal government started on negotiations and ownership. The Trumway Act of 1957, approved by the government for accepting its responsibilities by purchasing it after twenty years. Finally, through the Act of 1967, the government nationalized the Calcutta Tramway Company.