Metro rail operation anytime, needs a decision

The authorities had suspended the metro rail service throughout the capital city in the afternoon on 18 July, when the police box at Mirpur-10 was set ablaze during the quota reform protests.

On the following day, the metro rail stations at Kazipara and Mirpur-10 sustained massive vandalism in the same protests. 

The managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTCL), MAN Siddique, visited the spots on 20 July and told the media that it might take around one year to repair the two stations as well as to resume the metro rail service.

Citing experts, the then road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader also echoed the remark on 27 July.

As the interim government assumed the office, the DMTCL sources are now saying that the metro rail service can be resumed anytime, excluding the two vandalised stations. 

According to the sources, the coaches, tracks, and signal systems of the metro rail survived undamaged during the movement, while the ticket vending and fare collection facilities were damaged in Mirpur-10 and Kazipara stations. It is possible to resume the metro rail service from Uttara to Motijheel stations, except for the damaged ones, anytime subject to permission from the government.

The metro rail authorities also said they would reopen the service after getting a decision from the high ups. The road transport secretary is likely to seek direction from the chief advisor on Sunday. 

The DMTCL sources further said the entire system of metro rail is currently functional. However, if the service remains suspended for an extended period, it requires a trial run to ensure all systems are in order, as per the standard international practices. The technical team will take a decision on the duration of the trial run, whether one day or more. 

The metro rail operates around 200 trips per day, with around 300,000 passengers traveling at distances between Uttara and Motijheel. 

The DMTCL managing director could not be reached despite repeated calls over the phone.

ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary to the road transport and bridges ministry, told Prothom Alo that the issue of reopening the metro rail might be discussed with the high ups on Sunday and a decision is likely to be announced thereafter.

Meanwhile, a DMTCL official said on the condition of anonymity that it was a political estimation, with no verification, that the damages in the two stations was worth Tk 3 billion. Generally, it should cost less than Tk 500 million to replace the damaged machinery.