Tram cars that had disappeared from Mumbai in 1964 may be seen again in a new and futuristic version in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai, presently with a smaller population than Mumbai, could face problems of congestion in the future and trams were expected to help ease them, Sanjay Ubale, Secretary (Special Projects) told PTI.
"We are considering a pilot project in Navi Mumbai and have written to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation seeking their approval to carry out feasibility studies," he said.
"Navi Mumbai's streets also have the require road width to provide space for the tracks which would make it easier to implement tram systems there," Ubale said.
The electric tram car in Mumbai operated in 1907
with its first ceremonial journey from the civic headquarters in south Mumbai to the nearby Crawford Market, now renamed the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market.
It ran its last route on March 31, 1964.
The reintroduction of trams is also expected to change people's perception of them as being an antiquated mode of transport that can't be used in the modern age, Ubale said.
The model expected to be used is on the lines of tram systems in Europe where air-conditioned trams operate in city centres and are often used to convert areas into no-entryzones for private vehicles, a planner associated with the project said.