Nashik: The talk and layout plan of Nashik metro has made everyone nostalgic; thinking of the tram that ran in Nashik a long time ago. Tram service started in Nashik in 1889, during British rule. Nashik city was the third, after Culcutta and Bombay, where this facility was made available to the residents. “What makes this service special that it wasn’t run by the engine but by horses.
The two cabins used to get pulled by four horses. Its route originated from what is now the Old Municipal Corporation building located on the Main Road and terminated at the Nashik Road railway station.
The tram station was at the Main Road, and the tram reached the Nashik Road railway station via present Main Road, Bhadrakali Market, Ghasbazar, and Phalke road. It covered a distance of about eight to ten km, and the stretch was covered with dense jungle.
The only transport mode was trams or one or two taxis that covered the route..The services were provided at the rate of one paisa per ticket. It closed between 1931 and 1933.“There was a barrack built by Ahilyabai Holkar where Vijay-Mamata Talkies used to be. There was plenty of room to tie the new horses to the tram, let the tired horses rest; a well and a small stable for horses.
It ran on Nashik’s routes for almost 27 years, and later the horses got replaced by petrol engines. While it ran on diesel engines in other cities, petrol engines were a first in Nashik. For almost 44 years, it served the people of Nashik.
The existing municipal building has was constructed in 1936 on the site of the main road terminus. “Memories McCarthy has of the tram During 1925, McCarthy travelled by tram. His two tickets cost him twelve paise.
In the article ‘Nashik-then’, poet Kusumagraj has written passionately about trams. He writes, “If the carriages were full, the tram would leave. It would ring the bell and drive out of the village to the main road and then to the grass market.
It would take almost half-an-hour for it to cross the station. It didn’t stop on route to Nashik Road as there weren’t any settlements. However, if someone waved a hand at the charioteer, he would stop for them, and the company would receive two paise.
Nashikites were happy and curious to travel by trams. Even the charges were only one paisa. I still remember the railway tracks of the tram were getting dug up for the construction of Bhadrakali bus stand.”
Nashikites were happy and curious to travel by trams. Even the charges were only one paisa. I still remember the railway tracks of the tram were getting dug up for the construction of Bhadrakali bus stand.” – Madhukar (Anna) Zende, former PRO, NMC.
