A group of tram lovers renewed their demand for the restoration of tram routes in parts of the city where services remain suspended, while commemorating 153 years of tram service in Calcutta on Tuesday.

The first horse-drawn tram ran from Sealdah to Armenian Ghat in Calcutta on February 24, 1873, and the service remains the oldest operating network in Asia.

Tram enthusiasts asked why the city was regressing by reducing the network, while over 400 cities globally — from Melbourne to Zurich — were expanding their tram networks.

“The tram network in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, has expanded to cover almost the entire city. The air quality has improved, and the streets have become more pedestrian-friendly,” said Debasish Bhattacharya, president of the Calcutta Tram Users’ Association, a group advocating restoration of trams in the city.

“The tram network in Calcutta, in contrast, is being reduced on baseless and flimsy grounds,” he added.

From 25 tram routes in 2015, the service is now available on just two routes, three years after Calcutta celebrated 150 years of tram service in 2023.

The services have shrunk because trams contribute to the city’s traffic congestion and account for mounting losses, government officials said.

The state transport minister, Snehasis Chakraborty, has said that the state government will run trams only on one route — between Esplanade and Kidderpore.

Calcutta High Court has emphasised the need to preserve Calcutta’s trams and has even established an expert committee to safeguard the “heritage transport”.

“A committee has been set up, but the minutes of the meeting don’t always reflect what we, tram lovers, have to say,” Bhattacharya said.

“The state’s position on trams is largely based on the observations of Kolkata Traffic Police officers. Once we become aware of the specific reasons presented by the police in court, we will present our view. The objections raised by the police are baseless and not backed by scientific reasoning,” Bhattacharya said.

Senior transport department officials said an earlier attempt to revive some routes in the city’s north had to be shelved following opposition from the police. “Kolkata Police officers have argued that movement of trams on some stretches like Rabindra Sarani and Lalbazar Street impede traffic because the trams would move against the flow,” said an official.

To mark the occasion, a tram ride from Gariahat to Shyambazar via Esplanade was organised on Tuesday. A vintage tram, Gitanjali, which was designed for routes like Tollygunge, where trams ran on grass-covered stretches, was decked up, and tram lovers joined the celebrations, cutting a cake to mark the day.