The country’s commuting system entered a new era on Wednesday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first ever metro rail service in the capital.
She inaugurated the operation of the first phase of the project-- Uttara to Agargaon--at 11:00 am from Uttara sector-15 playground.
Marking the occasion, the Prime Minister also unveiled a commemorative stamp and a banknote.
As the government is starting the operation on a limited scale, it will take 20 minutes to travel the 11.73-Km distance from Uttara to Agargaon, but soon it will come down to 16-17 minutes.
Bangladesh is the third country in South Asian region to have metro rail after India and Pakistan. India introduced its first 3.4km underground metro rail in Kolkata in 1984 while Pakistan launched its mostly-elevated metro line in Lahore in October 2020.
In the first phase, a limited number of trains carrying fewer passengers will operate for a short period in the morning and in the afternoon, and the speed will be slower than usual for three months, as a period to get accustomed.
The trains will wait for a bit longer than usual at the station to help passengers become accustomed with the new seating and ticketing system. With the increase in the number of trains they will wait for less time at stations cutting the travel time.
In the beginning, the train will not stop at all stations. The train will leave the Uttara station and stop at Pallabi, and then it will go to Agargaon without stopping. Stopping of trains at intermediate stations will start later.
Initially the train will carry 200 to 250 passengers and later 700 to 800 passengers.
Of the 12 trains that have been kept ready for operating from Uttara to Agargaon, 10 will run regularly and two will be kept on standby for any problem.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
