Metro rail: No full safety audit was done before starting operations

The metro rail service from Uttara to Motijheel was started without a full safety audit by a third party. Afterwards, bearing pads came loose and fell on two separate occasions.

Sheikh Moinuddin, special assistant to the chief adviser in the Ministry of Road Transport and an expert on large projects, and Samsul Hoque, professor of civil engineering (structural engineering) at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), believe a full third-party safety audit is essential before launching a major project like the metro rail.

The first metro service from Uttara to Agargaon began on 28 December 2022. Passenger operations at all stations up to Motijheel started on the last day of 2023. Officials in the road transport ministry say the then-Awami League government hurried to launch the metro rail ahead of the 2024 election. Although trial runs had been carried out before allowing passengers, and various safety issues were examined, the rush to open remains a concern.

Experts say a comprehensive third-party safety audit would have detected all faults. Since bearing pads have come off twice, a safety audit is now warranted. Bearing pads connect the metro viaduct or flyover to its pillars.

Sheikh Moinuddin told Prothom Alo, “Normally bearing pads don’t have problems before 20 to 25 years. The occurrence of bearing pads coming off in Dhaka’s metro is not normal. I hope the investigation will reveal the reason.”

“Before starting any project there is a rule to thoroughly check its quality and safety arrangements. That must be done by a third party. If that wasn’t done, it was wrong,” he added.

Sheikh Moinuddin also said, “Now we will form a separate team to inspect safety and quality of work and carry out necessary maintenance.”

The metro is a popular mass transit system in the capital. About 450,000 passengers use it daily. The issue of the metro’s safety resurfaced after a bearing pad came off at Farmgate station last Sunday, killing a young man named Abul Kalam. Earlier, on 18 September 2024 a bearing pad had come off at the same location; that earlier incident caused no casualties.

After the accident, metro services were suspended at about 12:30 pm on Sunday. Later the authorities resumed operations on other sections, leaving out the stretch from Agargaon to Shahbagh. Full service along the entire route resumed at about 11:00 am on Monday. The suspension caused heavy traffic congestion and widespread hardship across the city.

A bank officer, Atikur Rahman, who tried to board a bus in Agargaon yesterday morning, said, “I offered to pay extra fare but still couldn’t get a CNG [auto-rickshaw]. I was already late for the office.”

The metro rail project was approved in 2012 at an estimated cost of Tk 219.8 billion (21,985 crore). However, the cost has reached Tk 335 billion (33,472 crore.) For the metro project, a loan of Tk 197 billion was taken from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Construction of roughly one kilometer of metro line has cost about Tk 15 billion (1500 crore) — far higher than neighboring countries and among the world’s highest per-kilometer costs.

The overall system design, selection of contractors and construction supervision were the responsibility of the consultant consortium called NCDM Association, a coalition of several consulting firms. Its lead was Japan’s Nippon Koei. Others included Nippon Koei India, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, UK’s Mott MacDonald, Mott MacDonald India and Bangladesh’s Development Design Consultants. The team leader was Takauki Fujitomi from Japan.

During the July mass uprising, the deposed Awami League government ran major publicity around big projects such as the Padma Bridge, the metro rail and the Karnaphuli Tunnel.

A senior official of the metro authority, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said political authorities hurried the project from the start. Most senior staff, including the managing director, lacked technical knowledge. Retired and serving public administration officers were leading the project, and they did not give much importance to safety. Moreover, asking questions of and holding contractors and consultants accountable was not given sufficient importance.

Not only was there no third-party safety audit, the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) also did not receive any report from the metro authority on safety matters.

Under the Metro Rail Act, 2015 and Metro Rail Rules, 2016, the metro operator is supposed to submit regular safety reports to DTCA and obtain technical and safety approvals.

DTCA officials say DMTCL has not submitted a single safety report since the metro began operations. DTCA had instructed appointing an independent third party to issue a safety certificate before starting operations, but that step has not yet been completed.

After the bearing pad incident in September 2024, the metro authority formed an investigation committee. Led by Abdul Baki Mia, director (planning & development) of the metro operating company, the 10-member committee included six internal officials and four representatives from consultant firms.

The committee’s report said daily train operations could cause displacement and contraction in the girders (the concrete structural elements of the metro). It recommended inspecting all bearings along the Uttara–Motijheel route, photographing them by drone and keeping records. It also recommended adding steel frames to hold the bearings in place.

DMTCL sources say all pillar bearings were inspected. No evidence of displacement was found at that time. However, drone photographs were not taken.

Adding steel frames involves additional expenditure, and a dispute has arisen over whether the contractor or the metro authority should pay for and carry out the work. The metro authority wrote to the consultant firm, but the issue was not resolved.

Experts and metro officials say the bearing pad that fell at Farmgate on Sunday does not appear to have failed due to wear. Rather, it may be the result of design or construction defects in the structure. It is unlikely that it would simply slip out under normal load. Vibration from train movement, temperature changes and other technical causes may have induced structural displacements.

Meanwhile, a new pad was installed where the Farmgate bearing pad fell and two steel protective cages were placed there. The plan is to do this on all pillars. But who will carry out the work remains in question. The metro authority says the contractor should do it.

There are 620 pillars along the Uttara–Motijheel stretch. Under those pillars, there are 2,480 bearing pads. Each bearing pad is about 1.25 feet long and nearly 1.75 feet wide, with a thickness of about half a foot. Each weighs between 50 and 80 kilograms.

On Sunday the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Faruque Ahmed, sent letters to the project director and the consultant firm. The letters ordered compensation for the accident victims according to safety policy, and instructed that all bearing pads be inspected within the next five working days and any damaged pads be replaced.

The letter also demanded a safety assurance certificate guaranteeing no similar accidents in the future. Otherwise, the contractor and consultant would be held legally and financially liable for any future accidents.

DMTCL sources say seven letters have been sent since last June identifying structural issues and requesting remedies. Supervision of the contractor’s work is mainly the responsibility of the consultant firm and the project director’s office, so all those letters were addressed to the consultant and the project director.

DMTCL managing director Faruque Ahmed told Prothom Alo on Monday that an investigation committee has started working to determine why the bearing pad fell.

He further said that a decision had been taken to install steel protective cages to secure all bearing pads. He added that concrete encasements will be used at bearing pad locations on future metro lines so they cannot shift.

Six metro lines will be built in Dhaka. Line-6, from Uttara to Motijheel, has been constructed and is being extended to Kamalapur. Tender processes are underway for two more metro lines; two more are in the planning stage and one project proposal has been prepared.

Shafiqul Islam, a regular metro passenger who lives in Kazipara, told Prothom Alo that he feels some anxiety about riding the metro train after the accident, but he will not stop using it because there is no more convenient mass transit.

He said the authorities should carry out a full safety audit to reassure the public.