A quintessential Bengali meal on board an air-conditioned tram car as it trundles through the lush green Maidan — the tramways’ attempt to battle operational losses has come as a welcome treat for Calcuttans.
Victoria on the Wheels, the city’s first restaurant on a tramcar, can accommodate 27 guests — 16 in the first bogey and 11 in the second — as it travels from Shahid Minar, which is the boarding point, to Kidderpore and back.
Lunch is served on two trips — 12pm to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm — and dinner on one trip from 7pm to 9pm.
The first meal-on-wheels trip was flagged off by transport minister Suvendu Adhikari in the run-up to Puja.
“We have nearly 50 per cent occupancy on weekdays. The demand is higher on weekends. We are very hopeful,” said Sanjiv Goswami, one of the directors of The Victoria chain of restaurants, which has bagged the contract from the government for 10 years. The company has to pay the government Rs 1.6 lakh every month for the tram.
The restaurant serves pre-cooked food from the company’s base kitchen in Kalikapur off EM Bypass and warms it before serving it to guests on board the tram.
The menu includes Gondhoraj Lebur Sherbet, Mochar Chop, Chhanar Chop, Sona Moong Dal, Topshe Fry, Prawn Malaikari, Chicken Dakbungalow, rosogolla and mishti doi.
Transport department officials described the tramcar restaurant as an experiment to cut down on the subsidy component. Few trams are operational at present — from more than 52 routes spanning 70km in the 1960s, trams now run on only five routes covering 17km. In 2013, the government had gone on a land-monetisation scheme releasing land parcels with the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) to bring in money and reduce the subsidy burden. Sources said CTC invites an annual subsidy of around Rs 150 crore.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed with this public-private partnership. The initial signs are encouraging. If it works, we will go for similar projects,” a CTC official said.
But Victoria on the Wheels has had its share of glitches — the tramcar developing a snag, snapping of overhead wires and delayed trips.
Dipankar Das from Bihar and Jayanta Bhowal from Farakka, who had made reservations recently, had to wait for an hour for their 7pm ride to begin. “We had come to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The tram was late and there were no seats or waiting area. We had to just stand in the open,” a customer said.
Several others complained about the absence of a dedicated website for reservation. The company officials said the facility would soon be available on its website (`www.thevictoria.co.in`).
The Telegraph
