The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will launch an information and exhibition centre to help prepare commuters for the Metro Rail before it begins operation in December this year.
Road Transport And Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader will inaugurate the centre at the Uttara depot on Tuesday, according to DMTCL. Students will be given priority for entry.
DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique told Dhaka Tribune: “We are giving priority to student visitors as they can learn how the system works and then explain it to their family members upon returning home.”
He added that people from all walks of life were welcome to visit the centre for a small fee.
According to DMTCL officials, visitors will be able to see the interior of metro rail trains and learn about ticketing and other necessary activities. They can see the entire process of purchasing tickets and replenishing balance on the payment cards that they will use to board the trains.
Visitors enter the exhibition room of the centre by paying for and using tickets at automated gates that are the same as those used on the metro rail platforms. Inside, there is a mock-up of the coach and a display of the Farmgate-Karwan Bazar metro rail route.
A presentation on how to use the metro rail will also be shown to visitors.
The exhibition centre also includes sculptures in memory of the Japanese consultants of the metro rail who were tragically killed in the terror attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka on July 1, 2016. The sculptures were manufactured in Japan.
The information centre will be moved to the Natun Bazar station from Uttara when the construction of MRT Line 1 is complete.
DMTCL sources said the launch of the information centre grew in importance following the experiences of the government during the opening of the Padma Bridge on June 25.
“There were many violations by excited commuters right after the bridge opened. We do not want similar violations when the metro rail opens,” an official said.
Tasnia Eusha, a secondary student at Tejgaon school, said: “The information will be helpful for us as we have no experience of riding on metro rail trains.”
Nabila Akhter, an undergraduate student at Dhaka University, said: “We are excited about the metro rail as it will ensure a journey uninterrupted by traffic.”
The DMTCL has decided to operate the electric trains every 10 minutes for 16 hours every day once the service is inaugurated. Ten sets of trains will ply between Uttara and Agargaon from 6am till midnight.
The frequency of trains will be increased if demand rises. If enough passengers seek the service, the gap between trains will be lessened to seven minutes.
According to the DMTCL, the overall progress of 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%.
