Calcutta Tramways Company

Timeline

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1873: An attempt was made to run a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) tramway service between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street on 24 February. The service was not adequately patronised, and was discontinued on 20 Nov.;

1880: The Calcutta Tramway Co. Ltd was formed and registered in London on 22 December. 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.; *1882: Steam locomotives were deployed experimentally to haul tram cars. By the end of the nineteenth century the company owned 166 tram cars, 1000 horses, seven steam locomotives and 19 miles of tram tracks.;

1900: Electrification of the tramway, and reconstruction of tracks to 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) was begun.;

1902: The first electric tramcar in Asia ran from Esplanade to Kidderpore on 27 March, and on 14 June from Esplanade to Kalighat.

1903: The Kalighat line was extended to Tollygunge, the Esplanade line to Belgachia (via Bidhan Sarani, Shyambazar), and the Esplanade to Sealdah route (via Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Rajib Gandhi Sarani and [present] Mahatma Gandhi Road) opened.

1904: Esplanade to Bagbazar route through College Street opened.

1905: Howrah Station to Bandhaghat route was opened to trams in June. Electrification project completed.;

1906: Bowbazar Junction to Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Ahiritola Junction to Hatibagan Junction routes opened.

1908: Lines to Shibpur via G.T. Road prepared. Esplanade to Sealdah station via Moula Ali Junction, Moula Ali Junction to Nonapukur, Wattganj Junction to Jatin Das Park Junction (via Alipur), Mominpur Junction to Behala routes opened.

1910: Sealdah Station to Rajabazar route opened.

1915: Mirzapur Junction to Bowbazar Junction and Sealdah Station to Lebutala Junction routes opened.

1920: Strand Road Junction to High Court route opened.

1923: S.C.Mallik Square Junction to Park Circus route (via Royd Street, Nonapukur) opened.

1928: Kalighat to Ballygunge route opened.

1930: Park Circus line extended to Garhiahat Junction.

1941: Rajabazar line extended to Galiff Street.

1943: The Calcutta system was well connected with the Howrah section through the new Howrah Bridge in February. With this extension, the total track length reached 42.0 miles (67.59 km).;

1951: The government of West Bengal entered into an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Company, and the Calcutta Tramways Act of 1951 was enacted. The government assumed all rights regarding the Tramways, and reserved the right to purchase the system (with two years' notice) on 1 January 1972 or any time thereafter.;

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) united with the government.;

1970: The Howrah sections were closed in October; the 1971/1973 Nimtala route was closed down in May 1973, and realignment of the Howrah Station terminus occurred. Total track length was now reduced to 38 miles (61.2 km).; 1980 :Tram tracks on Bentinck Street and Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay Road closed for construction of the Kolkata metro; following construction, these stretches were not reopened. Overhead wires were present until 1994 on Bentinck Street. Tracks on Jawaharlal Nehru Road remained after realignment, making a new terminus at Birla Planetarium; the Birla Planetarium route closed in 1991. An overpass was constructed on that road in 2006.

1982: The Sealdah Station terminus (along with the Sealdah – Lebutala stretch on Bipin Bihari Ganguli Street) closed for construction of an overpass. The site is now occupied by Sealdah Court and a bus terminal.

1985: On 17 April, tracks were extended connecting Maniktala to Ultadanga via Maniktala Main road and C. I. T. Road 3.7 km (2.30 mi). This was the first Tramways extension since 1947.;

1986: On 31 December, further extension of tram tracks from Behala to Joka was completed.;

1992: Calcutta Tramways Company undertook a new venture by introducing bus service from 4 November, initially with a fleet of 40 buses.;

1993: Howrah Station terminus closed and tram tracks removed on Howrah Bridge; the cantilever bridge proved too weak for trams. All routes terminated there were shortened to the Burrabazar (Howrah Bridge) terminus (formerly Burrabazar Junction).

1995: High Court terminus closed for reconstruction of Strand Road. Rails and wires were removed from there and from Strand Road, Hare Street and Shahid Khudiram Basu Road. The site is now occupied by the newest building of the Kolkata High Court.

2004: Garhiahat Depot – Garhiahat Junction link on Gariahat Road closed for construction of the Gariahat overpass.

2006: Mominpur – Behala stretch on Diamond Harbour Road closed for construction of an overpass at Taratala. Initially, there was a plan to route tracks on that overpass after its completion, but the road was later converted to a National Highway and the plan dismissed. Until 2012, the Behala – Joka stretch was still in existence, along with the Behala terminus.

2007: Wattgunge Junction – Mominpur Diamond Harbour Road, Mominpur – Jatin Das Park Judges Court Road, Jatin Das Park – Kalighat Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road routes closed for reconstruction. As of October 2011, they have not yet reopened.

2008: Galiff Street terminus realigned. Irregular service from Bagbazar to Galiff Street converted to regular by Route 7/12. Rails and wires removed from part of Bidhan Sarani route (restored by end of year).

2009: Tracks on R. G. Kar Road from Shyambazar five-point crossing to Belgachia tram depot closed down for reconstruction. As of early 2011, they are not yet restored. Now it was reopened.

2011: Joka-Behala stretch and Behala depot closed down for construction of the Joka-BBD Bag metro project;Ballygunge-Kalighat stretch closed for reconstruction.Lalbazar-Mirjapur down line was closed but up line still opened.

2015: Park Circus depot closed down for construction of the Park Circus Flyover & Nonapukur Depot was reopened. But Garhiahat Depot was still now opened.

2016: Gariahat section has been reopened after 12 years. The tram depot next to the Gariahat Mall is now operational.

Kolkata tram

The Calcutta Tramways Company (1978) Ltd has run the Kolkata tram, currently the oldest electric tramway in Asia as well as India's only tram system, since 1880.

Buses operated by CTC

The Calcutta Tramways Company (1978) Ltd started its bus service in November 1992. Since the introduction of the first CTC buses, the network has expanded rapidly. With over 40 routes throughout Kolkata and surrounding areas, its serves the area well and complements 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. The Tollygunge and Belgatchia depots were added in 1994 and 1995, respectively. In 2005, the CTC began bus service from Ghasbagan depot at Howrah.

Bus Depo List

Barasat (BS)

Belgachia (BL)

Ghasbagan (GB)

Habra (HB)

Kidderpore (KP)

Park Circus (PC)

Rajabazar (RB)

Tollygunge (TG)

Panihati

Joka (JK)

CTC bus lines

C1A Sealdah – Danesh Shekh Lane

C2A Tollygunge – Ghatakpukur

C7 Howrah Station – Harimohan Ghosh College

C8 Barasat - Joka

C8A Tollygunge – Airport Gate No.1

C11 B.B.D. Bagh – Domjur

C11/1 Howrah Station – Munshirhat

C14/1 Tollygunge – Madhyamgram

C20 Esplanade – Santragachi Station

C23 Park Circus – Dankuni Housing Estate

C24 Ghasbagan – Sealdah

C25 Howrah Station – Salt Lake Bikash Bhawan

C26 Howrah Station – Baruipur

C26/1 Howrah Station – Kamalgazi

C27 Nabanna / Esplanade – Barasat University

C28 Barrackpur - Howrah Station

C29 Habra – Barrackpur Court

C30 Rajabazar – Sankrail

C36 Rajabazar – Hanshkhali Pole

C37 Howrah Station – Amtala

C38 Howrah Station – Joka

C39 Rajabazar – Nabanna

C40 B.B.D. Bagh – Nabanna

C42 Howrah Station – Habra

C43 Habra – Garia Bus Stand

D2 Habra – Naihati

D4 Dunlop – Serampore

D5 Uttarpara College – Salt Lake Karunamoyee

D7 Naihati – Bongaon

D8 Barasat – Baduria

D9 Barasat – Hakimpur

D11 Esplanade – Baduria

E6 Esplanade – Amta

E7 Esplanade – Bagnan

E7/1 Esplanade – Shyampur

E12 Esplanade – Udaynarayanpur

E13 Esplanade – Jangipara via Domjur

E13/1 Esplanade – Jangipara via Jagadishpur

E14 Rajabazar – Furfura Sharif

E15 Esplanade – Gadiara

E17 Barasat – Digha via Esplanade

E17/1 Barasat – Digha via Bally Halt

E18 Esplanade – Dhamakhali

E19 Habra – Digha

E20 Habra – Durgapur

E25 Esplanade – Habra via Nagarukhra

E28 Esplanade – Bakshi via Bagnan

E29

E31 Esplanade - Garh Bhawanipur via Amta

E32 Esplanade – Antpur via Domjur, Bargachia, Jagatballavpur

E33 Habra – Furfura Sharif

E34 Jaguli – Furfura Sharif

E35 Esplanade – Joyrambati via Chapadanga, Arambagh, Kamarpukur

E36 Santragachi/Nabanna – Habra

E38 Esplanade – Mayapur via Barasat, Jagulia, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar

E41 Habra – Asansol

E42 Esplanade – Sangrampur via Haroa, Basirhat

E43 Esplanade – Sangrampur via Malancha, Bhebia, Hasnabad, Basirhat

E44 Esplanade – Radhanagar

E45 Joka – Digha via Tollygunge, Esplanade

M2 Tollygunge – Birati

T1 Dhulagarh – Rajabazar

T2 B.B.D. Bagh – Mandirtala

T3 Rajabazar – Ghatakpukur

T5 Rajabazar – Bhangor

T8 B.B.D. Bagh – Tikiapara

T10 Rajabazar – Chaital Ghat

T10/1 Rajabazar – Bhebia

T11 Esplanade – Haroa

T12 Howrah Station – Chaital Ghat

T13 Esplanade – Jibantala via Ghatakpukur

ACT1 Esplanade – Santragachi Station

ACT2 Park Circus – Dankuni Housing Estate via New Town, Airport, Dakshineshwar

ACT3 Barasat – Santragachi

ACT4 Barasat – Salt Lake Karunamoyee via New Town

ACT4 Airport – Salt Lake Karunamoyee

ACT5(Volvo) Barasat – Digha via Esplanade

ACT6A Dum Dum – Digha via Shyambazar

ACT8(Volvo) Habra – Digha

ACT9(Volvo) Salt Lake Karunamoyee – Digha

ACT10(Volvo) Barasat – Asansol

ACT11 Belur Math – Joyrambati

ACT12(Volvo) Esplanade – Asansol via Durgapur, Raniganj