Metro rail likely to begin operation by end of December

The country’s first-ever elevated metro rail is expected to be inaugurated partially in the last week of December from Uttara to Agargaon, reports news agency BSS.

“We have completed the construction work and now the last moment preparations are going on. We are expecting to launch the metro rail service by the last week of this month,” said managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL) MAN Siddique.

He said this at the Metrorail Exhibition Information Centre (MEIC) on Monday during a press tour organised by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to apprise the journalists of the latest update on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6.

Chief representative of JICA, Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide also spoke on the occasion while project director of MRT Line-6 Md Aftabuddin Talukder was present at the programme, among others.

Siddique said the train is now operating a system trial or service trial and it will operate a blank operation (moving without passengers) from 18 December ahead of the launching.

“A total of 12 trains are ready for operation. But initially 10 will run with six coaches on each train while the remaining two will be on standby to ensure an uninterrupted metro rail service if any one of the operational trains face any problem or technical glitch,” he added.

The DMTCL managing director said that initially the trains will operate with a limited number of passengers. The metro rail will begin full-fledged operation by two or three months of its inception, complying with the international standard.

Noting that the metro rail service will begin in Motijheel by December 2023 and Kamalapur by June 2025, Siddique said a train from Uttara north station will reach Agargaon station within 20 minutes while it will take only 40 minutes to reach Kamalapur station once the service begins full operation.

Speaking on the occasion, Ichiguchi Tomohide of JICA said the launching of the operation of MRT Line-6 from Uttara to Agargaon this year is a great achievement on the golden jubilee of the relationship between Bangladesh and Japan.

He also said the metro rail service will play a pivotal role in reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution on a greater scale in the capital city while the service will provide a safe travel environment for women.

Later, the journalists were taken to the Uttara north station where the officials concerned showed and briefed the process of traveling on a metro rail.