Tram lovers set to protest decline of heritage network
The Statesman | 31 July 2025
A group of tram enthusiasts in Kolkata are set to stage a sit-in outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters on 1 August, accusing civic and state authorities of systematically phasing out the city’s iconic tram network under the pretext of road repair and urban development.
The Calcutta Tram Users Association (CUTA), a citizen-led forum with over 600 members, has claimed that Kolkata’s tram system — once among the most extensive in Asia — is being quietly dismantled. According to the group, the number of operational tram routes has dropped dramatically from 37 in 2011 to just two, today.
“Tracks are being buried under asphalt in violation of a Calcutta High Court order,” said CUTA spokesperson Debashis Bhattacharya. “This is not just negligence — it’s a deliberate effort to erase the tram from the city.” CUTA specifically pointed to roadwork in Chitpur and parts of south Kolkata, where tram tracks have allegedly been covered with bitumen. The group also raised concerns over the continued suspension of services on the Tollygunge –Ballygunge route for more than a year.
“This is a convenient excuse to promote app-based cabs and auto-rickshaws,” Bhattacharya said, adding that around 200 demonstrators will gather at 1 p.m. outside the KMC headquarters before marching along a defunct tram line. In response, a senior official at KMC denied any knowledge of recent track covering and said current work was limited to essential underground pipeline repairs. The state’s transport department acknowledged the long-term decline of the tram system.
Operational tracks have shrunk from 61 km in 2011 to just 12 km as of 2022. Passenger numbers have plummeted from around 70,000 daily commuters in 2011 to just a few thousand. No state budget has been allocated for tram maintenance or expansion since 2018, according to department sources. Despite this, transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty has reiterated the government’s commitment to preserving trams on selected heritage routes. “We are awaiting the court’s decision on the matter before taking any further steps,” he said. The fate of Kolkata’s trams, a symbol of the city’s colonial past and urban character, now hangs in the balance as heritage activists and government authorities await a final verdict from the judiciary.