Michael Roschlau & Yury Maller
October 24, 2025
One of Kolkata's iconic trams traveling through the city's central district. Photo by Michael Roschlau.
Tonight's program takes us to a major metropolis in one of the world's most populous countries that is being covered for the first time in an ERA program. Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) has a rich history of urban transport, as the first and last city in India with electric trams and also the first to build a modern subway. Discover the variety of transport modes, arguably the most diverse in the world - on rail, road and water; electric, diesel, animal and human powered.
Tonight's speaker/photographers are retired Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) President & CEO Michael Roschlau and 26-year NYC Transit subway schedule manager and ERA Board Director Yury Maller. Both have traveled widely throughout the world documenting developments in electric rail traction.
They promise a fascinating journey through this vibrant and cosmopolitan metropolis.