Bombay trams – A nostalgic ride

The night of March 31, 1964 was highly sentimental for lakhs of Mumbaikars as they bid adieu to the trams which had ferried them for 90 years.

The idea of constructing a monorail in Mumbai as a viable option to the tram network was examined by the BEST undertaking over 60 years ago but abandoned since “they made unbearable noise and encumbered in an abusive manner the sky over the streets.”

In those days, monorail was called ‘overhead rapid transit’ which principally comprised “electric rolling stock with pneumatic tyres running on a single wide flanged concrete rail.”

After examining the idea, the BEST thought that the monorail would not be able to replace a grade separated mass transport system (suburban trains) to carry peak hour load to the extent of 40,000 passengers per hour or more as this system would carry only 7000 passengers per hour in one direction.

“Also it would not be able to traverse the congested localities with narrow roads and lined with multi-storey buildings.”

The monorail proposal, however, was not scrapped lock, stock and barrel. BEST engineers felt that “a monorail network could handle airport commuters, recreational traffic along sea shores, holiday traffic in gardens and parks.” The BEST sent a team of its officers to Japan with this limited brief.

The team recommended a monorail system between Chowpatty and Nariman Point over the sea or along the western footpath on the Marine Drive and also between the Santa Cruz railway station and Juhu Beach and “similar streets in the other parts of the city.”  Had this proposal materialsed, Mumbai would have been quite different today.

Electric tram-cars replace horse-drawn carriages
The trams were the first modern means of conveyance within the city, which earlier depended upon horse-drawn carriages and palanquins carried by men. They had been serving the city for 75 years. But the post-World War II scenario witnessed Mumbai growing phenomenally. Thus, the tram system started proving inadequate.

A peep in the annals of Mumbai tells one that the government enacted the Bombay Tramways Act, 1874 (under which the present Metro and Monorail projects are implemented) for operating trams in Mumbai.

In 1905, a newly formed concern, “The Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Company limited” (the forerunner of today’s BEST) bought the Bombay Tramway Company. On the first day (May 9, 1874), the number of passengers was 451 and the takings Rs. 85. On the last day (August 1, 1905) the numbers were 71947 and Rs. 4260, respectively.

The fare regulation – a little over one anna till the trams went off the roads in 1964 – was the principal reason of mounting losses and their eventual demise.

Mumbaikars gave a warm welcome to the electric tramcar.

The service was inaugurated on 7 May 1907 by civic chairman Vallabhdas Thakersey. At 5.30 pm, the first electric tram-car, specially decorated, started from outside the Municipal Office, went as far as the Crawford Market, and returned. The service started on a regular basis from the next day. It drew praise for its speed, comfort and low fares.

The route was from Colaba to Bori Bunder. Later, the tram network extended up to Grant Road. However, they were not allowed to ply in rich localities like Malabar Hill and Cumbala Hill lest the rich there were disturbed.

By 1910, the rush-hour traffic was a big challenge. There were not enough trams. The pressure kept on mounting. Standees were allowed and this idea worked till January 1914, when the approval was withdrawn.

The passing years aggravated the problem and the solution of double-decker tramcars was accepted. The first vehicles of this kind appeared on Mumbai’s roads in September 1920.

The tram-fares in Mumbai were the lowest in the world. But the salaries to the employees and other expenses were high since more comfort to the commuters and more frequent and speedier services were made available.

But the tide of change could not be stopped. The night of March 31, 1964 was highly sentimental for lakhs of Mumbaikars. These modest, if rather noisy vehicles, had devotedly carried Bombay up and down the city for ninety years.

The last of them, packed to capacity, left Bori Bunder for Dadar at 10 pm. BEST general manager B.G. Ghate was in the role of the conductor, issuing tickets. Many people preserved them as souvenirs for posterity. Crowds lined the route all the way bid farewell to the much loved, if old-fashioned, transport of the common man.

It was a sad farewell
The night of March 31, 1964 was highly sentimental for lakhs of Mumbaikars as they bid adieu to the trams which had ferried them for 90 years.