Dhaka metro rail services on the Agargaon-Motijheel section have been suspended since Wednesday morning, and officials have said a spring on a section of a viaduct has shifted, creating a risk for train operations.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, which operates the metro rail, said there was a technical issue, and DMTCL was working on resolving it.
“It may take an hour and a half to two hours to fix," he added.
"There are four springs on the viaduct, and one of them has moved… Although trains could still run, it would be risky. For the safety of the passengers, we will only resume operations after resolving the issue."
Meanwhile, transport experts said it should be referred to as a bearing pad rather than a spring. The functionality of the bearing pad had either been compromised or the pad had fallen off, causing the issue, they explained, adding that this kind of incident should not happen otherwise.
Prof Md Hadiuzzaman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said the bearing pad's job was to compress slightly when a vehicle passed over it and then return to its original position.
“Since the viaduct has not returned to its original state, it indicates that either the bearing pad has lost its functionality or fallen off,” he added.
The civil engineering professor said the viaduct joint where the issue had occurred was critical. “If the bearing pad is released, the pillar could break. These bearing pads are used to keep the viaduct flexible, and without their proper function, such an issue would not typically arise.”
Commenting on the abnormality of the bearing pad's failure in such a short time, the expert said bearing pads were vital, not only for bearing vehicle loads but also during earthquakes.
Hadiuzzaman added that the bearing must have been rigorously tested before installation, and further investigation was needed to understand why this incident had occurred.