Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013
Kolkata: The 130-year-old vintage tram network in the city, with its newly built air-conditioned cars, is now being used to promote heritage tourism.
The Calcutta Tram Company (CTC) and the state tourism department have started operating this special tram service in keepin with chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s dream to transform Kolkata into “London”.
The tourism department will run three services every day except Mondays and Thursdays. The north Kolkata ride — a heritage tour — will start from Esplanade and navigate mainly through the stretches of central and northern parts of this former British India capital and take passengers through Dalhousie Square, Raj Bhavan, Writers’ Buildings, Chitpore, Jorasanko Thakurbari (Tagore house), Star Theatre, Presidency College, Coffee House, Bagbazar, Chitpur, and to Shyambazar and back via College Street. In the evening, the tram will ply from Esplanade to Kidderpore through the Maidan.
The Rs260 (Dh16) fare per person includes tea and snacks to be served by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) during the ride. Tickets can be booked online from the IRCTC website or bought from the Esplanade tram depot.
The 22-seater single-coach tram has a steel body and reinforced tinted glass windows. Renovated at an estimated cost of Rs1.5 million, the interior has plush seats with fine upholstery, fibre reinforced plastic — which keeps out heat during summer — and walls with photographs of old Kolkata. An LCD screen is placed behind the driver’s cabin to screen short clips on the city’s heritage, tourist attractions and Bengal’s renowned personalities.
Though the initial response had not been up to the expectations, Shantilal Jain CTC chairman expects better response in the coming months.
“We expect the services to get popular amongst tourist in the coming months. CTC plans to introduce four more AC trams in Kolkata by early 2014,” said Jain.
Kolkata’s trams have been criticised with many saying the snail-paced transporters are not suitable for a metropolis of 16 million people. However, authorities consider them as part of the city’s heritage and started experimenting with various models with a view to make it economically sustainable.
About 20 modified electric tramcars were introduced a few years back sporting new polycarbonate transparent bodies, spacious interiors and large open windows.
CTC has a fleet strength of 257 cars and runs nearly 125 trams every day despite several constraints like shrinking road space, non-viable routes as well as ongoing construction works around Kolkata.
By Archisman Dinda Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
