Metro rail: Tk 2.44b revenue in FY24, reduced headway from May
The authorities are working to begin daylong metro rail operations on Fridays from May, while regular headway is likely to be reduced by raising the number of trips.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), made the disclosure at a view exchange programme with the Reporters for Rail and Road (RRR) on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event at the metro rail depot at Uttara in Dhaka, the DMTCL MD also disclosed that a revenue of 2.44 billion was generated from ticket sales of the metro rail in the 2023-24 fiscal year .
Currently, metro rail begins operation from 3:00pm on Fridays under a special schedule. On working days, trains run with an eight-minute headway during peak hours and with a ten-minute headway during off-peak hours. The total number of trips per day stands at 198 on regular days and 60 on Fridays.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf said they are working to bring the frequency of trains to a tolerable level. They expect to make it happen by May, as per direction from the adviser.
At present, metro trains carry an average of 350,000 passengers daily. The highest passenger count was recorded at 383,000 on Monday, surpassing the previous peak of 381,000 on 23 January.
The MD hoped that the daily figure would jump to 550,000 once the train route is extended to Kamalapur.
Revenue and expenses
The DMTCL MD noted that the company earned Tk 2.44 billion from ticket sales in the 2023-24 fiscal year, while the earnings were more than Tk 220 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year with partial operation from 2022.
Regarding expenses, DMTCL director (finance and accounts) Aftabuzzaman said they have to pay Tk 60 million on average as electricity bill, in addition to another Tk 60 million on salaries and allowances. Besides, there are some more costs on repair and logistic procurement.
He noted that three installments and interests of the metro rail project’s loan, amounting to Tk 760 million in total, have been repaid from the revenue.
The stations at Kazipara and Mirpur-10, which suffered damages during student protests in July, were reopened with equipment from other stations and some local purchases, at a cost of around Tk 20 million.
According to the DMTCL MD, a tender has been floated to procure additional necessary equipment, with an estimated cost of Tk 180 million.
During the previous Awami League government, the metro rail authorities said it could take a year to reopen the two stations, with estimated costs of around Tk 3.5 billion.