<p>The trams, which first appeared in the streets of Kolkata in 1873, is all set to get a new avatar. This Thursday the often slow, lumbering but pollution free mode of transport will exhibit a unique show like a library on wheels with a wide variety of collections including magazines, story books as well as books on several competitive examinations.</p>.<p>The modified tram will ply regularly 4.5 km long route from Shyambazar in North Kolkata to Esplanade in Central Kolkata. It will pass through the education hub of the city known as College Street where several premier educational institutions of the state are located.</p>.<p>"Notably, this is the first and the only such thing in India. Not many examples of such a concept exist worldwide. In addition to the books, free Wifi is provided to passengers to read online books while traveling. So, they can lay their hands on both physical books and e-books," stated a release by WBTC.</p>.<p>According to the authorities of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), the tram library will have a wide range of books including those on GRE, civil services and WBCS. They also said that the collection will be regularly updated.</p>.<p>“General readers and students can use the tram library while traveling. It will also have facilities such as free wifi and the e-books,” said Rajanvir Singh Kapur, the managing director of WBTC.</p>.<p>He also said that in future, several events such as book launching, reading sessions and other education related programs will be held on the tram library.</p>.<p>After nearly 147 years since its first run on the streets of the city, initially drawn by horses, then by steam locomotives for short while and finally powered by electricity in 1902, it remains to be seen how Kolkata’s trams adopt to its new role. Transport Department officials are hopeful that the initiative will strike a chord with readers.</p>
<p>The trams, which first appeared in the streets of Kolkata in 1873, is all set to get a new avatar. This Thursday the often slow, lumbering but pollution free mode of transport will exhibit a unique show like a library on wheels with a wide variety of collections including magazines, story books as well as books on several competitive examinations.</p>.<p>The modified tram will ply regularly 4.5 km long route from Shyambazar in North Kolkata to Esplanade in Central Kolkata. It will pass through the education hub of the city known as College Street where several premier educational institutions of the state are located.</p>.<p>"Notably, this is the first and the only such thing in India. Not many examples of such a concept exist worldwide. In addition to the books, free Wifi is provided to passengers to read online books while traveling. So, they can lay their hands on both physical books and e-books," stated a release by WBTC.</p>.<p>According to the authorities of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), the tram library will have a wide range of books including those on GRE, civil services and WBCS. They also said that the collection will be regularly updated.</p>.<p>“General readers and students can use the tram library while traveling. It will also have facilities such as free wifi and the e-books,” said Rajanvir Singh Kapur, the managing director of WBTC.</p>.<p>He also said that in future, several events such as book launching, reading sessions and other education related programs will be held on the tram library.</p>.<p>After nearly 147 years since its first run on the streets of the city, initially drawn by horses, then by steam locomotives for short while and finally powered by electricity in 1902, it remains to be seen how Kolkata’s trams adopt to its new role. Transport Department officials are hopeful that the initiative will strike a chord with readers.</p>
