Nostalgic! Tram cars to chug along south Mumbai again

Mumbai might soon have tram cars on the streets as a weekend tourist attraction. Representational Image/AFP

Tram cars may soon make a return to Mumbai's streets. The BEST Undertaking in its committee meeting on Wednesday discussed a proposal to revive one tram car and check the feasibility of running it on a small stretch between the Electric House and Kala Ghoda on weekends with the help of the tourism department.

BEST Committee Member Atul Shah, who first tabled the proposal, said that he had spoken with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari about the idea, who'd then given him a verbal assurance for the same.

"BEST has a plan for reviving an old tram car and keeping it on display at Bhatia Baug outside Mumbai CSMT station. But this does not make sense. Tram cars are supposed to be kept running instead of being a stationary display. If we could run one tram car on a small stretch only during weekends as a tourist attraction, it will evoke a lot of nostalgia and also educate the present generation about the glory of tram cars," said Shah. He said there are technologies available now to easily run one tram car by powering it electrically or through batteries.

BEST committee member and opposition leader Ravi Raja raised questions about the finances of the plan, to which Shah and BEST officials said they could rope in the tourism department and the BMC, and that BEST could extend support to actually operate the car. However, Shah said, a feasibility study would have to be conducted before that happens. Chairman of BEST Ashish Chemburkar expressed his support for the idea saying the BEST should look at other countries that have been doing such things successfully.

Mumbai's tram days
The tram service in Mumbai, which was introduced in 1874, was stopped in 1964. While horses initially pulled the trams, the cars were powered by electricity in 1907. The Colaba junction corner was the main junction of the city's tram network that would run from Colaba to Pydhonie via Crawford Market.

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