Metro rail to run from dawn to midnight

The country's first metro rail will start operation from Uttara to Agargaon with 10 trains, and each train will leave the station at intervals of 10 minutes for the first few days.

Then, the authorities will change the frequency of departure based on passenger demand and will be prepared to set trains off at 3.5-minute intervals.

The trains would be operated from the time of Fajr to midnight daily. On the first day of train operation, only invited people will be able to take a metro ride, while general people will be allowed to travel the following day.

To inform and educate people about the metro rail, the authorities will open a metro rail exhibition and information centre next month, which was supposed to be opened in January.

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, the implementing agency of the metro rail projects, yesterday revealed this information at a press conference at his office, as they are preparing to start partial commercial operation in December.

After the functional test, the performance test of the metro trains is almost over, and authorities will start a "system integrity test" of the trains from September 1, to check synchronisation, he said.

It would not take more than three months, he said, adding that then, they will carry out "blank operation", which means operating trains without passengers, and will do everything needed to prepare for boarding passengers, he explained.

The blank operation would not take more than 15 days, he said. "Then, we will go for the much-expected commercial operation."

"The government wants to start commercial operation from Uttara to Agargaon in December. We are moving forward with the plan… We are ahead of schedule for most of the works," he added.

He said the Uttara to Motijheel section would be operational in December next year, and preparatory works are ongoing to extend the line up to Kamalapur Railway Station.

Siddique said the approval process for dedicated MRT police is now at the final stage, and they would be deployed before beginning partial operation.

He said they were going to sign a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), probably next week, to facilitate communication of metro passengers from Uttara and Agargaon.

Although fares for metro rail have not been fixed yet, they are ready with the rapid pass, the prepaid card that will be used for travelling by metro, and will take 15 days to incorporate the fares in the pass, he added.

Officially known as Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 or MRT Line-6, it was supposed to be implemented between Uttara and Agargaon at a cost of Tk 21,985 crore by June 2024.

Later, the project was revised for extension up to Kamalapur at the cost of Tk 33,472 crore within December 2025.

The overall progress of the project is 81.70 percent till July, while the Dhaka-Agargaon section saw 94 percent progress, he said.