C T Online Desk: Bangladesh’s transportation system entered a new era on Wednesday when prime minister Sheikh Hasina launched the country’s first metro rail service in the capital amid celebrations.
With the introduction of the metro rail service, the country also got its first-ever electricity-powered rail system.
Hasina marked the moment as ‘another feather in the crown of the Bangladeshi people’s pride.’
The entirely elevated and air-conditioned rail service will run initially on the 11.73-kilometre-long Uttara-Agargaon route before eventually expanding the service to 21.26 kilometres by 2025, covering 17 stations.
The service will be open to the public today at 8:00am.
Initially, the trains will run for four hours daily without stopping at any station between Uttara and Agargaon, and passengers will have to pay Tk 60 as fare.
The prime minister inaugurated the operation of the first phase of the project, Uttara to Agargaon, at Uttara sector-15 playground and travelled to Agargaon as the first metro rail passenger.
Marking the occasion, the prime minister also unveiled a commemorative stamp and a Tk 50 banknote.
The inauguration programme, organised by the road transport and bridges ministry, began at 11:00am.
Senior government officials and people from all walks of life gathered at the venue to watch the inauguration of the first-ever metro rail service in Bangladesh.
At the gathering, Hasina said that at least four milestones were achieved with the inauguration of the metro rail.
‘Metro rail is itself a milestone, secondly, the country entered the era of electric trains with this, thirdly, the metro rail would be operated and controlled by a digitalised remote control system and finally, it took Bangladesh to a speeding train system,’ she said, adding that the service would play its part in making Bangladesh smart as per the government announcement.
The highest speed of the train will be 110 kilometres per hour, she said, and added that the service would save travel time and cost and would create employment opportunities for skilled manpower.
Once all six MRT lines were completed by 2030, these would carry 50.4 lakh passengers daily, she said, urging the passengers to keep the stations and trains clean while using them and cause no damage to any machines.
Hasina’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana was present as a special guest while road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori, JICA Bangladesh office chief representative Ichiguchi Tomohide, the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the road transport and bridges ministry, Rawshan Ara Mannan, Dhaka-18 constituency lawmaker Habib Hasan, road transport and highways division secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited managing director MAN Siddique, and Mass Rapid Transit Line 6 project director Aftabuddin Talukder, accompanied the prime minister on the podium.
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that the first ever metro train, carrying the prime minister and Sheikh Rehana along with around 200 selected passengers, left North Uttara station for Agargaon at 01:53pm.
The passengers include freedom fighters, the speaker of the parliament, ministers, government officials, diplomats, school students, and members of national minority groups.
Hasina flagged off the train’s service at North Uttara station. There she also wrote on a green flag, which was used to flag off the train.
Earlier, the prime minister collected the first ticket at about 01:35pm at the North Uttara station, followed by her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana.
Later, both of them punched their tickets at the entrance to the station and boarded the train.
After her arrival at North Uttara Station, the prime minister planted a sapling there.
As part of the empowerment of women, a female driver, Mariam Afiza, drove the metro train as the first operator.
From today, passengers can avail of the service for four hours between 8:00am and 12:00pm.
The journey between Uttara and Agargaon will take approximately 10 minutes, and trains will leave the stations every 10 minutes.
Passengers will need to follow some steps in order to use the metro rail service.
All metro stations are elevated and have three floors. From the ground floor, passengers will go to the first floor by stairs and escalator, while differently-abled and elderly passengers can take a lift.
The first floor will be called the concourse, where passengers will be able to buy tickets through three systems using cash only at the moment.
From counters – passengers can buy a one-time ticket or MRT Pass for multiple usages.
In order to register for an MRT Pass, commuters will need to use their NID, passport, or birth registration number. They also need to include the names of their father and mother, and their mobile number.
They will have to pay Tk 200 as a deposit for the pass and an additional amount of up to Tk 10,000 for travelling with these cards.
Any passenger can also buy a single-use ticket from an automatic ticketing machine using cash.
Once tickets are bought, by touching the ticket or MRT Pass on the automated door on the first floor, passengers will have to go to the platform on the second floor to get on the trains.
Between the platform and the train, there are Platform Screen Doors, and passengers will need to stand behind the yellow mark before the PSD.
When the train arrives, the passengers inside the train will leave first
before the waiting passengers are allowed to get on the train.
There are long seat arrangements and handles inside the trains, and one spot for wheelchair users in each compartment.
Each train will have one reserved coach for women.
When passengers get on the train, they will be able to see the route map and display board inside the train to know where they are, and an announcement will also be made before the train reaches the next station.
Once passengers reach the desired station, they will get down from the platform using stairs, an escalator, or a lift.
Then they will find another automated door where they will have to drop their single-use ticket or touch the MRT Pass.
If someone travels longer distances than they paid for, she or he will have to pay a fine, and without the correct ticket, the doors will not open.
Finally, to leave the station, passengers will have to get down from the concourse level to the ground floor by stairs, escalator, or lift.
The state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation will operate 50 buses to transport passengers to and from Agargaon and Uttara metro rail stations.
Between 30 and 40 buses will transport passengers from Agargaon and 10 from Uttara North station, the corporation’s chairman Tajul Islam told New Age on Wednesday.
The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited has been implementing the MRT Line-6 project, popularly known as the metro rail, since 2012.
The entire Uttara–Kamalapur metro rail route is expected to be inaugurated in December 2025.
