Kolkata Tram Museum Smaranika & Victoria | Heritage AC cafe restaurant

Would you like to visit a luxury cafe in Kolkata for 20 rupees? Then you are in the right place. While you are shopping in the Esplanade area, you might feel hungry. I think (Smaranika) the Kolkata tram museum is the right option for you.

Smaranika Tram Museum, Kolkata, West Bengal

People of Calcutta have found a new place to hang out, a unique combination of tradition and modernity. This type of cafe is trendy abroad, like a tram cafe in Dublin or a cafe in Munich.

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The East India Company started the first tramway service in 1873. At that time, it was very popular. Now, the Tram is our heritage. At the CTC bus Depot in Esplanade, an old tram is preserved as a symbol of the Tram’s historical and heritage journey.

The museum was built by renovating a 1938 wooden tram. Its name is “Smaranika,” and it has two coaches. The first part of the coach is the cafeteria, and the second part is the museum.

Smaranika is Kolkata’s only Tram Museum, where anybody can have a good time with friends. This museum started its journey about four years ago, in October 2014. You can enjoy the museum and cafeteria for one hour at a time.

The Smaranika junction offered one-hour seating for just 20 rupees. One coach has been converted into a restaurant where you can get tea, coffee, and packaged foods like cakes, chips, biscuits, and other snacks at a reasonable price.

Smaranika Tram Museum address

6, Sido Kanhu Dahar, Maidan, Kolkata, West Bengal 700069. The Esplanade Metro gate, number 2, is the nearest gate. The place can be reached by bus and Tram. Esplanade Tram Depot is Opposite KC Das Sweets shop.

Smaranika Tram Museum Timings

The museum is open from 1 to 8 p.m. daily, year-round, and is closed on Thursdays.

Kolkata Tram Museum Smaranika entry fee

The tram museum’s Entry fee is 20 rupees per hour per person. Tickets are sold on an hourly basis.

What will you find in the Tram Museum?

The inside view of the Smaranika Tram Museum is very pleasant and soothing. Here, you can see the oldest horse-drawn Tram, steam locomotive tram, and watering Tram, from the ‘flat wagon tramcar’ to the most modern AC tram. The Nonaapukur tram depot, as seen in the special tram model number #567, will be featured in 1931. This Tram was used in 2013 in ‘Detective Bomkesh Bakshi.’

You can find old Tram Controller Top Cover, Point Bar, and Coin Exchanger—and tram parts used at various times. Interested people will see the tram’s old monthly and daily tickets, tram workers’ uniforms, training badges, hats, buttons, and ancient coins kept in the treasury, etc.

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Displays of newspaper cuttings and booklets from various festivals worldwide celebrating tram journeys, and posters narrating trams of Kolkata in literature, are on display. This exhibition briefly traces the history of Kolkata’s 150-year-old trams.

Lastly, sip a cup of hot coffee and watch a documentary on Kolkata’s trams, then sit in the cafeteria and spend a few more moments there.

Smaranika Tram Restaurant in Kolkata

Kolkata’s wooden tram car became a star because of Kolkata. The Tramways Company has launched a new AC tram restaurant in Kolkata to restore heritage values and revive the city’s tramway routes. The AC Tram is located in Esplanade in the heart of the city, and we look forward to you enjoying history and food together.

Tram Museum Restaurant Menu

In this museum, there is a cafeteria where you can get tea and coffee, packaged foods like biscuits, cakes, chips, chocolates, and other snacks, and cold beverages.

What is the new idea about the tram restaurant in Esplanade?

The tram authority says there is a proposal to abandon a tram in that square. We have many tram photos in our collection. The tram scene was repeatedly seen in the movie. It will be presented to the audience in a planned manner.

Why is the Smaranika Tram Museum so famous in Kolkata?

• Most small museums in this city face a lack of visitors, but Kolkata Tram Museum, West Bengal, attracts an average of 75 people daily to the memorial of the only tram collection.
• Smaranika is only an AC cafeteria for 20 rupees.
• The first electric tramcar service was started in Asia in 1902. It was run from the Esplanade tram depot.
• At that time (the 1900s), the first Tram left the depot at 4:40 a.m., and service continued until the last Tram departed at 11:50 p.m.

Victoria Tramcar Restaurant Kolkata

The Tram is part of our heritage and culture. When the Tram is on track, people say, “Heritage on the track.” A Calcutta-based event management company launched a special tram service from Shahid Minar to Khidirpur on October 13, 2018, to observe how the city of Joy and its traditional places look at sunset. It’s the second tram restaurant in Kolkata.

The Tram is named “Victoria on Wheels.” It started from Shahid Minar and covered Victoria Memorial, Maidan, Eden Gardens, Akashvani, Fort William, and Khidirpore Dock.

The Tram has been refurbished and designed as a 28-seater restaurant with great food, a fully air-conditioned coach, and bio-toilets. It features an audiovisual setup that presents historical information about Calcutta and its heritage. This step aims to attract tourists seeking a unique dining experiencein a moving tramcar.

The tram journey includes a non-vegetarian meal and vegetarian food, along with a welcome drink, starters, a main course, and dessert. The food is served during a 90-minute round-trip ride from Shahid Minar to Kidderpore.

Victoria Tram Restaurant, Kolkata timing

Lunch – 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Dinner – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Victoria AC Tam restaurant Kolkata Package Price

For non-veg 1040/- per person
For veg 840/- per person

Victoria Tram restaurant booking phone no 9836129270

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History of Kolkata’s Tramways

On February 24, 1873, the East India Company started the first tramway service, operating a 3.9 km tramway from Sealdah to Armenia Ghat Street. However, the lack of encouragement for the tramway service initiative was no longer the case. This facility was closed that year and remained inactive for the next 7 years. At that time, the Tram was drawn by horses.

In 1882, experimental steam engines were installed to drive tram cars. In 1902, after two decades, the introduction of electricity-powered trams revolutionised the industry, and tram facilities have been available since then.

One of the defining moments in the history of the Calcutta Tramways was in 1902, when Asia’s first electric Tram ran between Esplanade and Kidderpur in Calcutta. Soon, the tracks were extended, and service from Esplanade to Kalighat began.

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In the next decade, many other routes were established and became famous. The Esplanade Sialdah route, Esplanade Bagbazar route, Howrah station, Bandhaghat route, BBD Bag from Bowbazar Junction, and Haribagan Junction to the Ahiritola Junction were included.

A Guide to the Incredible Trams of Kolkata

There are seven tram depots: Belgaasa, Rajbazar, Park Circus, Goriat, Tollygunge, Kalighat, and Khidirpur. In addition, there are nine terminals and a workshop for the Calcutta Tram.

Each tram has two coaches: a first-class compartment and a second-class compartment. Since 2013, trams have become less class-based, offering all passengers the same fares and benefits.

Some trams have had a new lease on life with air conditioning in recent years. Now, the Calcutta Tramway offers a beautiful tram journey through old traditional areas, historical buildings, and the greenery of Maidan.

If you want to visit old Kolkata, try the 36/8 tram route, which starts at Kidaripur and runs through BBD. Bag, Chitpur, and the ends of Esplanade and Bagbazar.