The Hindu : dated 13th & 15th April, 1953: Goodbye to Madras trams

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Monday, Apr 14, 2003

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dated 13th & 15th April, 1953: Goodbye to Madras trams

At midnight on April 12, the tram service of the Madras Electric Tramway in Madras City ceased to operate. Over a lakh tram passengers were forced to take buses or other conveyance. The 60-year-old utility was closed with the Madras Electric Tramway Company Limited — the oldest tramway company in the East — placed in the hands of a receiver, Mr. B.G. Brooks. Mr. Brookes told the press that the Company had gone into a very bad state.

He had taken charge of all the assets of the firm; he could not run the trams unless there was an economic basis for doing so with income made to exceed outgoings. In 1951-52, the Company lost between Rs. 40,000 and 50,000 every month, and Government were warned of that state of affairs in December 1952.

The Madras Electric Tramway Company Limited was incorporated in 1892 and tramways were constructed under an order of the Madras Government dated April 6, 1892. The construction of the first track commenced in 1894 and the first tramway section opened for use in May 1895. The Company ran the first electric tramways in the East. Its activities expanded in 1904. The trams operated over 16 and a quarter miles of road, and the rolling stock consisted of 103 single-deck cars, each equipped with two electric motors. The daily mileage was approximately 7,000 with the cars carrying daily 1,25,000 passengers on average. The closure of the service was to throw 1,650 workers out of employment.

Editorial Comment: "The circumstances in which the Madras Tramway Company has closed down are unprecedented: The public, most hit by the sudden cessation of a vital service, have had no suspicion of what was impending. The Government who were aware of the financial position of the company did not apparently expect that its affairs would take such a sudden turn for the worse that it would pass into the hands of a Receiver and its operations cease. Issues have been raised as to the legality of the Company's action in suspending service without due notice and while a dispute is pending settlement before the Industrial Tribunal.

Legal issues apart, the immediate task of the Government must be to get the tramway service re-started in the interest of the travelling public and the smooth running of the economic life of the community."

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