Mumbai’s lost tram tracks surface
The tram service in Mumbai, which was introduced in 1874, was stopped in 1964. While horses initially pulled the trams, electric engines replaced the animals in 1907.
3 min read
The tram tracks in the Flora Fountain area. Prashant Nadkar
Tram tracks hidden for more than six decades have been discovered underneath the road near South Mumbai’s Flora Fountain area. The tracks, a relic of the era when horses pulled trams around the city’s streets, were found by the civic body’s road department workers, who had taken up improvement work on the stretch.
The tram service in Mumbai, which was introduced in 1874, was stopped in 1964. While horses initially pulled the trams, electric engines replaced the animals 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. The service was later extended to other parts of central Mumbai.
While the junction’s improvement work has been ongoing for the last two months, senior road department officials said the workers first discovered parts of the tram tracks on February 19. “The workers observed an iron-like thing that day,” said a senior official, who did not wish to be named.
“When we excavated further the next day, it became clear that this was part of an old tram system. The tram tracks, which were found 1 foot below the surface, are 16-metre long,” the senior official said. “It seems the tracks had been buried when the mud roads were replaced with asphalt,” he added.
Following the discovery, the Mumbai municipal authorities have now decided to showcase it as a monument. The tracks will be handed over to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, which plans to display them in a city museum.
“The BEST museum in Sion’s Pratiksha Nagar showcases historical artifacts and antiques connected with the city’s transportation system. These tram tracks will add more value to the collection. It will help us throw more light on the history of Mumbai’s transport,” said BEST’s General Manager Jagdish Patil.
“The tram tracks will be lifted on Monday,” he added. Road department engineers said the discovered tracks were in a good condition. In 2009 too, trams tracks were unearthed during excavation work along the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road near Lalbaug.
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