India: The oldest operating trams in Asia see slow death in Kolkata
Fans of India's tram system hail it as the "glory" of Kolkata and an integral part of how the megacity grew, but the 151-year-old network is under threat.
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00:00Whenever I sit in Tram, I can see the city through a different view, point of view.
00:05Because these wooden frames have a different taste of vision.
00:10I can see the detail of the city through this Tram because it's very nostalgic, it's very
00:16old, and it very beautifully mixes with the surroundings, wherever it goes.
00:36This is compressor switch, we should raise this up first, then the compressor motor will
00:41start sucking in air.
00:50This is the only city in India which has the Tramways, and if this is removed, then this
00:56glory of not only the city, the country will be lost.
01:02That the investment you require is minimum, service life of the Trams is 50, 60, 70, 80
01:09years life, in contrast to 5 to 10 years for buses, state transport buses.
01:16And for Tramways, the operational running cost and everything is minimum.
01:21Spare parts may be expensive, but they are so durable, that in the long run, these are
01:27all economically sound.
01:52Whenever I think about it, I really feel sad about it, that I'm riding these Trams and
01:58one day they all will be scrapped.
02:01But the next time I think that we can be the change, we can do something, so let's not
02:06lose hope, and let's fight for it.
02:08We can make something better out of it, instead of scrapping it.