Dhaka Tribune 22 August 2022
Ten sets of trains will ply between Uttara and Agargaon from 6am till midnight
File photo of Metro rail Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
The metro rail authorities have decided to operate the country’s first electric trains every 10 minutes for 16 hours every day once the service is inaugurated in December this year.
Ten sets of trains will ply between Uttara and Agargaon from 6am till midnight, according to officials of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).
“The frequency of trains will be reduced if demand rises. If we observe that passengers are growing gradually, the gap between two trains will be lessened to seven minutes,” DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique said yesterday.
The authorities are capable of operating trains every three and a half minutes as per demand, he told reporters at the DMTCL headquarters in Dhaka.
According to the DMTCL, the overall progress of the MRT Line-6 is 81.70%. The progress of work on the Uttara-Agargaon route (first phase) is 93.86%, Agargaon to Motijheel (second phase) is 81.86% and the overall progress of electrical and mechanical work is 83.34%.
Siddique said that all kinds of functional tests had already been completed in order for the launch of operations in December.
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“We have collected the simulators. They are being set up now. The operators will be trained through simulators from October,” he added.
Moreover, the blank operation (without passengers) of metro rail, which may take 10-15 days followed by an integration test, is to be completed by November.
So far, 70 coaches and 34 engines of the metro rail have arrived through Mongla port.
Fares not fixed yet
Even though the DMTCL has been progressing fast with plans to introduce the new mode of transport, the Road Transport and Highways Division has yet to finalize the fare.
Siddique hoped that the fares would be announced in time.
The authorities have yet to approve a plan for a 20-kilometre journey from Diabari to Motijheel in Dhaka metropolis at a rate of Tk5 per kilometre.
According to sources, the relevant committee has recommended a maximum of Tk100 and a minimum of Tk20. As such, the fare for the 11.7km-route between Uttara and Agargaon will be more than Tk55.
The rate was calculated depending on users’ ability to pay, officials say. However, the fare policy may see some changes.
Siddique said: “We have taken up the work of extending the metro rail line from Motijheel to Kamalapur in line with the instructions of the prime minister.
“We have a utility survey going on there. Once it is over, we will appoint firms to do the civil works.”
