Calcutta Tramways Company

2025-09-14T17:43:10Z

198.179.5.251:

{{Short description|State-run company in West Bengal, India}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox company
| name = '''Calcutta Tramways Company'''
| logo = [[File:CTC logo.gif|120px|CTC logo]]
| logo_caption = CTC Logo
| type = [[Tram]] [[Transport network|network]]
| genre =
| fate = Merged with [[West Bengal Transport Corporation|WBTC]]
| predecessor =
| successor = [[West Bengal Transport Corporation]]
| foundation = 1880<ref name="calcuttatramways.com">[http://www.calcuttatramways.com/history.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927004918/http://www.calcuttatramways.com/history.aspx |date=27 September 2013 }} CTC website. Accessed 16 August 2013.</ref>
| founder =
| defunct = 2016
| location_city = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]]
| location_country = [[India]]
| locations =
| area_served = [[Kolkata]]
| key_people =
| industry =
| products =
| services = [[Tram]], [[Bus]]
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner = [[Government of West Bengal]]
| num_employees =
| parent = Calcutta Tramways Company (England)
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = {{URL|calcuttatramways.com}}
| footnotes =
| image = Calcutta blue trams, Kolkata, India.jpg
| image_caption = Kolkata Tram as of today
}}

'''Calcutta Tramways Company''' ('''CTC''') was a state-run company that operated trams and buses in and around [[Kolkata]] (formerly known as Calcutta) in [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. The [[Trams in Kolkata|Kolkata tram]] is the only operating tramway in India and the oldest electric tram in India, operating since 1902.<ref name="Kolkata trams to get a GenX makeover">{{cite news|title=Kolkata trams to get a GenX makeover|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Kolkata-trams-to-get-a-GenX-makeover/articleshow/14857280.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927133900/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-13/kolkata/32662823_1_tram-network-lrt-institute-of-urban-transport|url-status=live|archive-date=27 September 2013|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=13 July 2012 }}</ref><ref name=onlytram>{{Cite news|title=Reaching India |url=http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/657741.cms |access-date=27 February 2012 |publisher=Times Internet Limited |location=New Delhi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016221039/http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/657741.cms |archive-date=16 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Special tram rides to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel prize|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/special-tram-rides-to-commemorate-rabindranath-tagores-nobel-prize/articleshow/27424366.cms|work=[[The Economic Times]]}}</ref>

CTC was merged into [[West Bengal Transport Corporation|WBTC]] in 2016.<ref>[https://ibgnews.com/west-bengal-transport-corporation-constituted-cstc-ctc-and-wbstc-merged-in-to-wbtc/ West Bengal Transport Corporation constituted – CSTC, CTC and WBSTC merged in to WBTC]</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Horsetram.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption|Life-size model of a horse-drawn tram at the City Centre arcade]]
The first horse-drawn trams in India ran for {{convert|2.4|mi|km}} between [[Sealdah]] and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February 1873. The service was discontinued on 20 November of that year.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> The Calcutta Tramway Company was formed and registered in London on 22 December 1880. Metre-gauge horse-drawn tram tracks were laid from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat via Bowbazar Street, Dalhousie Square and Strand Road. The route was inaugurated by the Viceroy, [[Lord Ripon]], on 1 November 1880.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> In 1882, steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/>

[[File:Trams of British India In2.jpg|thumb|alt=Tram on a busy city street|A tram in 1945]]
In 1900, the electrification of the tramway and conversion of its tracks to {{RailGauge|ussg}} ([[standard gauge]]) began.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> The first electric tramcar in [[Calcutta]] ran from [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]] to [[Kidderpore]] on 27 March 1902. In February 1943, the Calcutta and Howrah sections were connected by the new [[Howrah Bridge]].<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/>

In 1951, the government of West Bengal entered an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Company and the Calcutta Tramways Act of 1951 was enacted. The government assumed the tramways, reserving the right to purchase the system with two years' notice on 1 January 1972 or at any time thereafter.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> In 1967, the Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta Tramways Company (Taking Over of Management) Act and assumed management on 19 July. On 8 November 1976, the Calcutta Tramways (Acquisition of Undertaking) ordinance was promulgated under which the company (and its assets) was nationalised.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/>

The Tramways system had degraded by the 1990s, and Minister for Transport [[Shyamal Chakraborty]] planned to close the network. In the meantime, Calcutta Tramways Company introduced bus service on 4 November 1992 with a fleet of 40 buses.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> However, [[Melbourne]] tram conductor Roberto D'Andrea befriended fellow Calcutta conductors during a 1994 visit. When D'Andrea heard about the planned closure of tram network, he suggested an art project to decorate the trams (as was done in his home city). The project increased public awareness of the tram network and its value, ultimately saving it.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/tramjatra-melbourne-and-kolkata-linked-by-tram-history/7904626| title = Tramjatra: The story of the Melbourne conductor who helped save Kolkata's trams - ABC News| website = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]| date = 6 October 2016}} </ref>

==Trams==
{{Main|Trams in Kolkata}}
The Calcutta Tramways Company Ltd operates the [[Trams in Kolkata|Kolkata tram]], currently the oldest electric tramway in Asia and India's only existent tram system, since 1880.

==Buses==
With over 45 routes throughout Kolkata and its surrounding areas, CTC buses complement its tram service. The initial bus service was introduced from Rajabazar with a fleet of 40 buses, augmented in 1993 with service from Kidderpore depot.<ref name="calcuttatramways.com"/> The Tollygunge and Belgachia depots were added in 1994 and 1995, respectively. In 2005 the CTC began bus service from Ghasbagan depot at Howrah.

==Depots, terminals and workshops==
There are five tram depots: [[Rajabazar (Kolkata)|Rajabazar]], [[Gariahat Road|Gariahat]], [[Tollygunge]], [[Kalighat]] and [[Khidirpur]]. Rajabazar and Tollygunge depots are the largest in terms of tracks and area, respectively. Khidirpur depot is the oldest and Kalighat depot is the smallest. There were tram depots at [[Pilkhana, West Bengal|Ghasbagan]], [[Belgachia]], [[Park Circus]] and [[Joka, Kolkata|Joka]] which are now converted into CTC bus depots. There are also CTC bus depots in [[Barasat]], [[Habra]] and [[Titagarh]].

There are six tram terminals: [[Shyambazar]], [[Bidhannagar Road railway station|Bidhan Nagar Road]], [[Ballygunge railway station|Ballygunge Station]], [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]], [[B.B.D. Bagh]] ''(currently closed, work going on resume its services again)'' and [[Howrah Bridge]]. The Esplanade terminus serves most of the tram routes. Former tram terminals, all now either closed or converted into bus depots and terminals, had been at [[Shibpur]], [[Salkia|Bandhaghat]], [[Bagbazar]], Galiff Street, [[Kolkata High Court]], [[Nimtala Crematorium|Nimtala]], [[Behala]], [[Sealdah Station]], [[Howrah Station]], [[Birla Planetarium, Kolkata|Planetarium]] and [[Royal Calcutta Turf Club|Racecourse]].

There is one workshop: Nonapukur.

== Routes ==
{{See also|Trams in Kolkata#Routes}}

2 routes currently operate in Kolkata. Recently AC tram was also introduced.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/gariahat-goodbye-to-trams/cid/901587|title=Gariahat Flyover}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://calcuttatramways.com/tram-route-search/|title=calcuttatramways/routes.com}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Trams in India]]
* [[Kolkata Metro]]
* [[Kolkata Suburban Railway]]
* [[Kolkata Circular Railway]]
* [[Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation]]
* [[Calcutta State Transport Corporation]]
* [[West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation]]
* [[South Bengal State Transport Corporation]]
* [[List of tram and light rail transit systems]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Notes==
*Niyogi, S. ''Shake, rattle & roll''. The Sunday Story, Sunday [[Times of India]], Kolkata, 25 June 2006. Available on [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/us Times of India e-paper] (paid subscription required as of 2010).
*Pathak Pratap Shankar, The Sunday Story, Sunday Times of India, Kolkata.

==External links==
* [http://calcuttatramways.com/ Official website of Calcutta Tramways Company]
* [http://urbanrail.net/as/in/kolk/kolkata-tram.htm Urbanrail.net page with schematic map of trams in Kolkata]
* [http://www.tundria.com/trams/IND/Calcutta-1967.shtml Geographical map of trams in Kolkata, both past and latest updates]
* [http://www.shugotram.jp/trampage/tpagein/tpaginkk.html Photos of trams in Kolkata] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325191418/http://www.shugotram.jp/trampage/tpagein/tpaginkk.html |date=25 March 2017 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171027233443/http://vahan.wb.nic.in/wb/ Department of Transport from the Government of West Bengal website]
* {{PM20|FID=co/051109|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

{{Trams in India}}
{{State owned road transport companies in India}}
{{Kolkata topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tram transport in India]]
[[Category:Railway companies of India]]
[[Category:Metropolitan transport agencies of India]]
[[Category:State agencies of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Transport in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Tram, urban railway and trolley companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Trams in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Indian companies established in 1880]]
[[Category:Indian companies disestablished in 2016]]

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Calcutta Tramways Company