Trams rights: Citizens of this former colonial capital are rising up to protect Asia’s oldest electric transport system

On October 5, a protest rally blocked College Street in the heart of Kolkata, in the eastern India state of West Bengal. It was a motley group: Students, people from different professions, and senior citizens, out to save a part of the city’s identity – Asia’s oldest tram service, running for over 152 years.

The group was small considering the city’s political culture but the social media outcry was much bigger. The city’s trams may have become a marginal option for commuting, with a steady decline in the last few decades, but they are strongly associated with the city’s heritage and are part of its cultural pride.

The first horse-drawn trams in Kolkata began service in February 1873, covering a 3.9km route from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat Street near the Hooghly River. In 1882, steam locomotives were introduced to pull tram cars through the city streets, aiming to replace the horse-drawn system. In 1902, Kolkata became the first Asian city to have an electrified tramway. Today, this is the only operational tram system in India.

West Bengal’s transport minister, Snehashish Chakraborty, stirred the hornet’s nest last month, announcing that the government plans to do away with trams. After a series of protests, the minister has now said that it will not happen immediately. The respite for citizens is that the issue of phasing out trams is still pending at the Calcutta High Court; a judgment in June last year was for restoring and maintaining trams.