Home ›› 28 Aug 2021 ›› Front
The Metrorail project implementation authorities are all set to conduct its first test run on the main track on Sunday, touching a new milestone in the country’s communication history.
“The first trial run of Metrorail on the viaduct will be held on August 29 as the cars performed well in tests on the depot,” said MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd (DMTCL), which is implementing the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6, also known as Metrorail project.
He said that all 24 cars will be tested gradually. The test is important to fix the bugs if any.
The city people will see a moving Metrorail on the viaduct travelling five stations from Uttara to Pallabi without passengers around 10:00 am, if all functions go accordingly, said the officials of the project. The commercial operation of the trains is expected to begin on December 2022 partially.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, also the General Secretary of the ruling Awami League, will remain present during the demonstration, said the officials.
The Additional Director of the Metrorail project, Md Zakaria, told The Business Post that none would be allowed inside the train during the trial for safety reasons.
“Manufacturers will conduct the trial and Bangladeshi engineers will take experience from it,” he said.
Once the project is completed in June 2024, the electric overhead Metrorail will carry daily five lakh passengers to and from Uttara to Motijheel, a route spanning 20.10 km.
A train comprising six cars will be able to carry a maximum of 2,308 people at a time. A total of 24 trains will move at a speed of 100km per hour from every 3:30 minutes during peak hours. Six sets of the car have already reached Bangladesh, DMTCL managing director MAN Siddique said.
The cars are manufactured by Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.
The project started in 2012 but construction work began on June 26, 2016, at a cost of Tk 21,985 crore.
The government had earlier planned to inaugurate the first phase of the Metrorail from Uttara to Agargaon by December 2021 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence.
Siddique said they have revised the plan, extending the deadline now until December 2022 due to the Covid-19 situation, which hampered the project works significantly.
According to a monthly progress report in July, the overall progress of the fast-track project was 68.49 per cent. The first phase saw 88.18
per cent progress and the second phase -- from Agargaon to Motijheel -- 66.74 per cent. The installation of tracks and other equipment and procurement of cars saw 60.66 per cent progress.
The very first consignment of Metrorail coaches has arrived in Dhaka on April 21.
The coach rolled out on the tracks on a test run inside the depot at Diabari on May 11.
Metrorail will be the country’s first electricity-powered trains contrary to the conventional trains that are run by diesel-powered engines, said the officials.
The trains will pick and drop passengers at 16 stations, which are Uttara North, Uttara Centre, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur 11, Mirpur 10, Kazipara, Shewrapara, Agargaon, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbag, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel.
