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The story
The first horse-drawn trams in India ran for 2.4 miles (3.9 km) between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February 1873. The service was discontinued on 20 November of that year. 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. In 1882, steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars.
In 1900, the electrification of the tramway and conversion of its tracks to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) began. The first electric tramcar in Calcutta ran from Esplanade to Kidderpore on 27 March 1902. In February 1943, the Calcutta and Howrah sections were connected by the new Howrah Bridge.
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. 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.
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. 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.
From Wikipedia’s article on Calcutta Tramways Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4