Metro rail test run conducted

The country’s first elevated metro rail carried out a performance test on the viaduct from Uttara to Agargaon station for the first time on Saturday.

A train traveled to Mirpur 10 from Uttara at 100kmph and from there to Agargaon at 15-25mkph, in accordance with the government plan to open the 11.73km route to the public in December 2022 as part of the first phase.

Officials told The Business Post that the train reached Agargaon station around 10:45am from Uttara’s Diabari depot, and returned to the same spot after staying there for around 45 minutes.

Implementing agency Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd’s Managing Director MAN Siddique said the test will continue for a few more days, adding, “The train will be open to the public on Victory Day 2022, and commercial operation will begin with ten trains on the Uttara-Agargaon route.

“We already have seven sets of trains, and we will get the remaining ones running soon.”

Previously, the metro train went for a performance test on the viaduct from Uttara to Pallabi station on August 29 and from Uttara to Mirpur 10 on November 29. The 130km Dhaka Metro Rail Project has six lines, and all of them will be opened by 2030 in phases.

The Metro Rail Line 6 consists of 16 elevated stations, and is expected to transport more than 60,000 passengers every hour from both sides.

According to a monthly progress report released in November, the overall progress of the fast-track project was 72.99 per cent. The first phase from Uttara to Agargaon recorded an 89.88 per cent progress.

Between Uttara and Motijheel the train will cross Pallabi, Rokeya Sarani, Khamarbari, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Dhaka University’s Teacher-Student Centre, Doyel Chattar and Topkhana Road.