Bangladesh's 1st metro rail nears completion

DHAKA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's first metro rail in Dhaka was nearing completion on Friday with trial run on the final phase link from the capital city's Agargaon area to Motijheel commercial district.

The test run on the final section of the 21.26-km project, known as Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 (MRT 6), was flagged off by Minister of Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader at a station in Dhaka.

According to the minister, if all trials and inspection go well, the train on the route will be launched for public use in October this year.

He said three stations - Farmgate, Secretariat and Motijheel - would initially be opened when trains start running on the Agargaon-Motijheel route.

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), a Bangladeshi state-owned enterprise founded to implement the metro rail lines across Dhaka, is constructing the metro rail line, divided into eight packages, in two phases in collaboration with companies from China, Japan and Thailand.

The Line-6 consists of 17 elevated stations and electricity-powered light rail tracks.

The first phase of Bangladesh's first metro rail from Dhaka's Uttara to Agargaon began commercial operation on Dec. 28 last year, setting a milestone in the South Asian country's transportation history.

A joint venture between Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned company of PowerChina, and Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, a Thai company, had been building the main depot for the MRT Line-6 in Dhaka since 2017.

The metro will eventually cover large parts of Dhaka.

The overhead construction of metro rail can help ease traffic gridlock in the capital. Once the project is implemented, a train with six air-conditioned coaches will operate every four minutes and carry an average of some 60,000 passengers per hour.