Benares Tramway

Benares Tramway is mentioned for the year 1857 in the India Office Records (IOR) and show that an ‘Expenditure of Rs3000.0.0 sanctioned from the ferry fund/Beneres for laying down a wooden tramway on the portion of the Ghazeepore Road which lies in the bed of the River Grountee? ).

Note:-

• Different spellings of ‘Ghazeepore Road’ and ‘Ghazipur road’ . These must refer to the road to Ghazipur which is 40 km north-west of Benares (modern name Varanashi). The Ghazipur Road is to the north of Benares from the suburb of Daulatpur (ref. Map of Benares 1909 ).
• The ‘River Grountee’ cannot be identified.

The 1857 proposal cannot be identified and no further information has been found.

Benares Tramway Company was formed in 1886 as given in ‘Grace’s Guide’ quoting ‘The Engineer’ 23 July 1886 page 81 ‘New Companies’ with transcript as follows .

'Benares Tramway Company Limited'

This company was registered on the 8th inst (8 July 1886), with a capital of £100,000 in £10 shares, to aquire the benefit of a concession from the Municipal Board of Benares, and approved by the Indian Government, for the construction and working of tramways in Benares. The company will adopt an agreement of the 7th inst. Between S.H.Robinson of the one part, and F.W.Haddon (for the company) of the other part, and will also enter into agreements with George Pearson and Weetman Dickinson Pearson and with Walter Wood.Particulars of these agreements are not given in the memorandum and articles of association.

The subscribers are:- (one share each)

• Walter Wood, 13 Delhay Street S.W., engineer.
• S.Wright, 2 Manor Road, Bradford, solicitor.
• W.D.Pearson, 4 Durham Place, Kensington, contractor.
• S.B.Lawrence, 155 Grove Lane, S.E., secretary
• G.E.Arnold, C.E., 12 Harley Road S.E.
• W.H.Churchward, C.E., 10 Kingswood Villas, New Brompton.
• D.T.Fender, 2 Trafalgar Road, Twickenham.

The number of directors is not less than three nor more than twelve; qualification, shares or stock in the company, but any director may act before acquiring such qualification. The first directors are :-

• Lieut.-General G.G.Anderson
• J.Brunton, C.E.
• J Walrond Clarke
• Lieut.-General T.N.Harwood
• Lieut.-General J.L.Vaughan C.B.

The company in general meeting will determined remuneration. The directors may appoint one of their number to the position of managing director, and may determine his remuneration.

From “Indian Engineering” 15 Jan 1887:-

‘We understand that a London company have received a concession to lay a system of Tramways in Benares. The work will be carried out by a Calcutta firm. A hitch has occurred in the arrangements owing to the Municipality wishing to impose some impractical conditions. The system will comprise three lines; one from Raj Ghat to Cantonments, another from Cantonments to the Purana Chowk, and the third parallel to the city.” .

No further information concerning the 'Benares Tramway Company' has been found. It can only be presumed that the ‘impractical conditions’ being laid down by the Municipal Board of Benares caused the proposal to be abandoned.

There is no evidence that this tramway was constructed.