Another day, another milestone: PM opens metro rail's Agargaon-Motijheel section
Metro service from Uttara to Agargaon suspended for today’s inauguration ceremony
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the second phase of the metro rail's much-awaited Agargaon to Motijheel service today.
The premier inaugurated the route from the Agargaon station at 2:30pm on Saturday (4 November).
Afterwards, she boarded the metro and headed to Motijheel for another inaugural programme at the station.
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Using the metro rail, commuters in Dhaka will be able to cover the 20.1km distance from Uttara to Motijheel in just 31 minutes – a distance that would have taken more than an hour on the road.
Regular metro service from Uttara to Agargaon will be suspended today (4 November) for today's inauguration ceremony, said Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) MAN Siddique.
The prime minister will inaugurate the construction work of the MRT Line-5 (Northern route), which will be a 20-km line from Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur-10, Gulshan.
The deadline for the Tk41,239 crore project is 2028.
Earlier on 28 December, the prime minister inaugurated the first phase of the first-ever metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader had said the metro rail would stop at three stations – Farmgate, Secretariat and Motijheel – on the Agargaon-Motijheel section.
On the Uttara-Motijheel route, the metro will run daily from 7:30am to 11:30am from 5 November.
He also said after 11:30am, metro rail movement will be stopped on the Motijheel-Agargaon route, while it will operate till 8:30pm in the Uttara-Agargaon section.
Considering people's convenience, the route was extended by 1.16 km from Motijheel to Kamalapur.
Quader said the extended portion will be completed by June 2024.
Each train can run at a speed of 100 to 110 km with 2,300 passengers. However, the speed will be lower in areas with bends.
The metro rail will be able to carry 60,000 passengers per hour and half a million passengers per day, and one train will arrive at each station every four minutes, according to the project details.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been constructing the metro rail and providing soft loans to the project. The JICA gave Tk19,500 crore for the project.
