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People are eager for relief from traffic stress on the route
Published : 04 Nov 2023, 01:29 AM
Citizens are on the cusp of enjoying Dhaka metro rail trips from Uttara to Motijheel via Agargaon 10 months after it was opened to the public partially in December last year. Long burdened by traffic stress on the route, they are eagerly anticipating the relief the metro rail promises to bring.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially open the Agargaon to Motijheel section of the mass transit service at 2:30pm on Saturday before it is available for public use the following day.
She will then travel to Motijheel on the metro rail for another inauguration ceremony at the Motijheel Station.
The prime minister will also launch the construction of MRT Line-5 (north route), which will stretch 20km from Bhatara to Gabtoli via Gulshan and Mirpur-10. The Tk 412.39 billion project is expected to be completed by 2028.
For a full trip from Uttara to Motijheel on the first line, MRT-6, it will take passengers just half-an-hour, relieving them of the hours of traffic stress of the streets.
MAN Siddique, the managing director of Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company Ltd, said all preparations were completed for the opening of the route. “We’ve been holding trials for many days. Several trials were held today as well.”
MRT-6 will have 16 stoppages with the trains stopping for an average of 45 seconds at each station. The trains will travel at 100kph.
“But the trains won’t always travel at that speed. It will take the trains 31 minutes to travel from Diabari to Motijheel, including stoppages and slowdown at bends,” Siddique said.
SAVING TIME FOR FAMILY, WORK
Rashedul Islam Hasan, an employee at a chemical company in Motijheel, lives in Uttara Sector-7. He starts for the office at 8am everyday.
“It’s supposed to take [metro rail] just a bit more than half an hour to travel from Uttara to Motijheel. I start for the office two hours ahead every day. If I can travel in only half an hour, I’d be able to buy groceries and do other things before starting for the office at 9am.”
“It will save me at least three hours of commute every day. I’ll be able to spend personal and family time instead of travelling.”
Abu Jafar, a bank employee, said: “It was hard to tell how long returning from work would take. It’d often take four hours to return home. I hope metro rail will help me save up that time.”
Ashraful Islam, a teacher at a private college, lives in Uttara just for his job while his wife, child and parents stay in Azimpur.
“I stay as a subtenant in a room and travel to Azimpur on Thursdays. Sometimes I feel like going home after work, but the very thought of a three-hour trip discourages me. For how long can I sit in traffic jams?”
“But that will no longer be a problem and I’ll be able to head back home whenever I want. I’ll also be able to give lessons by travelling from home. This will help me spend time with my family.”
OPEN FOR 3 HOURS INITIALLY
After the opening of the section, metro rail will run on the route from 8am to 11am everyday initially and gradually increase operation hours.
But trains will run on the Uttara to Agargaon stretch from 8am to 8pm as usual.
The metro rail carries 85,000 people on an average from Uttara to Agargaon daily. Once it fully opens, the metro rail will be able to carry 60,000 people every hour and over 600,000 people every day, according to officials.
FARE IS Tk 100 FOR UTTARA-MOTIJHEEL TRIP
Passengers will have to pay Tk 100 for a trip through the route from Uttara to Motijheel. Initially, the trains will make stoppages at Motijheel, the Secretariat and Farmgate stations on the new route.
Trips from Uttara to Farmgate will cost Tk 70 and up to the Secretariat Tk 90.
The other stations at Bijoy Sarani, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh and Dhaka University will be opened three months later.
Authorities also opened the stations from Uttara to Agargaon in phases and all nine stoppages are active since Mar 30.
The full MRT Line-6 will stretch to Kamalapur and the government plans to complete it by 2025.
PUSH TO COMPLETE WORK ON OTHER LINES
The government formulated the Strategic Transport Plan in 2005 with assistance from the World Bank in a bid to control the increasingly congested traffic movement in the capital.
The metro rail and Bus Rapid Transit were part of the 20-year plan, from 2004-2024. Although the implementation is a bit behind what was sketched out, the government plans to launch five more lines by 2030.
Hasina launched the construction work of MRT Line-1 in February and will inaugurate work on MRT Line-5 on Saturday. Experts say once all the lines operate in Dhaka, the traffic logjams in the city can be curbed.
SM Mehedi Ahsan, general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said: “A large number of people are left out of the metro rail services. Once all the lines become active, it’ll have a great positive impact.”
“The first project took a lot of time. The time to construct other lines should be maintained carefully. Otherwise the budget of the project will swell and people’s suffering will increase.”
On MRT Line-6, he said: “Important areas are part of the Uttara to Motijheel route. A huge portion of students, office employees from Farmgate and Agargaon government offices will be able to take the trains now.”
“Many students of colleges and universities, including those from medical institutions, travel on this route. And businessmen frequent the commercial zone of Motijheel. The launch of the metro rail on this route will bring about a big change.”
Adil Mohammed Khan, professor at Urban and Regional Planning of Jahangirnagar University, said: “When the metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon opened, I said it would not have much impact unless Motijheel-Farmgate-Shahbagh areas are connected.”
“Now that Motijheel is connected, people in one or two passages will greatly benefit from it, those who’ll travel long distances in particular.”
Adil, the chief executive officer of the Institute for Planning and Development, said the authorities must push to swiftly complete the other lines to reduce traffic jams.
He said providing metro rail services through one line would never positively impact a densely populated city like Dhaka.
“Opening other metro rail corridors is crucial to reduce traffic jams on the whole.”
[Writing in English by Syed Mahmud Onindo]
