Bangladesh's commuting system entered a new era on Wednesday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country's first metro rail service in Dhaka.
She inaugurated the operation of the first phase of the project, Uttara to Agargaon, at 11am at Uttara Sector 15 playground.
The prime minister also launched a commemorative stamp and a banknote to mark the occasion, reports UNB.
Her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, and DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam were present, among others.
Sheikh Hasina will later buy a ticket and board Dhaka Metro Rail, accompanied by over 200 people, for its maiden trip.
As the government is starting the operation on a limited scale, it will take 20 minutes to travel the 11.73km distance from Uttara to Agargaon, but soon it will come down to 16-17 minutes.
Also Read: How to buy a metro rail ticket The dos and don'ts while riding metro rail
Bangladesh is the third country in South Asia with a metro rail service 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 for people to get accustomed to it.
The trains will wait for a bit longer than usual at the stations to help passengers become accustomed to the new seating and ticketing system. With the increase in the number of trains, they will wait for less time at stations, cutting travel time.
In the beginning, the trains will not stop at all stations. They will leave the Uttara station and stop at Pallabi, and then they will go to Agargaon without stopping. The stopping of trains at intermediate stations will start later.
Initially, the trains will carry 200 to 250 passengers and later 700 to 800 passengers.
Of the 12 trains ready for operating from Uttara to Agargaon, 10 will run regularly and two will be on standby for any problems.
Ticketing and fare
There are two systems for ticketing for passengers who want to travel by metro rail: automated and manual.
In the automated system, passengers can get their tickets by themselves, but one passenger will be allowed to get a maximum of five tickets at a time.
Besides, those who find the automated system confusing can get their tickets manually following the traditional system of buying tickets at counters by paying in cash.
All passengers will have to enter through the gate using a smart pass after getting a ticket and will be able to use escalators to go to the platform on the third floor.
The minimum fare for Dhaka metro rail is Tk20, and the maximum fare - for travelling from Uttara to Motijheel - is Tk100.
In the first phase, the fare from the Uttara station to Agargaon will be Tk60. The fare from Uttara (North) to Uttara (Central) and Uttara-South Station will be Tk20.
Besides, from the first station, Uttara North, to Pallabi and Mirpur-11 stations, the fare will be Tk30, the fare to Mirpur 10 and Kazipara stations will be Tk40 and Shewrapara station will be Tk50.
According to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), rail operations to Motijheel may start by the end of 2024, and Kamalapur by 2025. By December 2024, the metro rail will start operating from Agargaon to Kamalapur with 24 trains.
As the train will run at the speed of 100km per hour, it will take 38-40 minutes to reach Kamalapur from Agargaon crossing - a distance of 21.16km.
The metro rail project was taken up in 2012, and a loan agreement in this regard was signed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a Japanese development cooperation agency, the following year.
The main construction work of the project started in 2017.
