West Bengal plans tram route linking Dakshineswar and Kalighat temples

Kolkata: West Bengal government will undertake a new tram route from historical Kali temple in Dakshineswar to Kalighat temple in Kolkata, West Bengal Minister of Transport Arjun Singh said on Wednesday.

The state will also undertake a major tramcar revival programme in Kolkata, with the introduction of air conditioned trams across Kolkata and adjacent Rajarhat-New town and Saltlake, which will be of international standard.

Connecting the two Kali temples by tram route will give boost to religious circuit tourism, an effort promised by the new BJP-led Bengal government and clearly expressed in the state budget.


“West Bengal government will introduce AC trams in all previous routes and the tram tracks will be removed from the central part of the roads. All tramlines will be newly laid on the left side of the roads. Most importantly, tramcars will not run on electricity but battery or other alternative resources,” Singh said.

“New routes will also be started in Rajarhat-NewTown and Saltlake,” Singh said, in the sidelines of a programme organized by Merchant Chamber of Commerce & Industries (MCCI) organised a Special Session on ‘Vision for New Transportation System in West Bengal.

Singh said on Wednesday that the state government has already appointed RITES to do a survey for the tram revival plan and the survey will be completed in 30 days.

He also said new AC buses, both electric and CNG, would be added to the existing fleet of state government buses. A holistic charging infrastructure would be built for the electric buses, he said.

The state minister elaborated on how the state government is also looking at the inland waterways transportation system in the state and also to develop a port along the river Ganges.

MCCI Senior Vice President Munish Jhajharia said that as industries expand and urbanisation gathers pace, transportation infrastructure assumes even greater importance. “For industry, transport is not merely a public service—it is an economic multiplier.”

Lavesh Poddar, Chairman, Council on Logistics, Transport, Shipping, MCCI urged the state government to prepare a Comprehensive West Bengal Logistics Master Plan, on the lines of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.