UK firms ready to help Bengal develop green public transport system: Envoy

Kolkata, Nov 20 (PTI) The British delegation for the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) has several companies with expertise in running trams and other modes of green public transport, and they would like to help in developing such a system in West Bengal, a UK envoy said on Monday.

BGBS, West Bengal’s marquee business summit, begins here on Tuesday.

Trams are still running in many cities in the UK and also in South London, UK Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, Andrew Fleming, pointed out.

'We are happy that our delegation for the BGBS has many companies with expertise in running trams and other modes of green public transport. They would be ready to help in the movement of people in cities and towns of West Bengal,' Fleming said.

Trams are an iconic feature and a heritage symbol of Kolkata, he said before riding a special tram operated by the West Bengal Transport Department from Tollygunge to Ballygunge, a distance of around 5 km in the southern part of the city.

The British delegation for the BGBS is also accompanied by a few climate experts, and UK-based companies working on Net Zero, solar, sustainable urbanisation, clean mobility, air pollution and climate action.

An 'Adda' (interactive session) between the UK delegation members and senior transport department officials of the state, including its secretary Soumitra Mohan, was organised during the 50-minute tram ride.

On the sidelines of the event, Mohan told PTI that trams are part of Kolkata's heritage.

'All of us are passionate about Kolkata trams, which started in 1873 and have been running continuously since 1880 starting from horse-driven carriages. Later trams were also steam driven and finally upgraded to electric mode which we still see today,' he said.

Mohan also said that trams are now the cleanest mode of transportation in the city.

'We are thinking about protecting this heritage but while doing that, we need to find a balance when it comes to the growing traffic in the city as tram tracks, many a time, have been held responsible for accidents, particularly two-wheelers,' the transport secretary added.

A special Puja Prakirama tram was operated by the West Bengal Transport Department during the Durga Puja festival last month. PTI RG/SBN NN