Relief as long queues begin to ease at Dhaka Metro Rail stations

Law enforcement members are breathing a sigh of relief as the passenger load has dropped

The Dhaka Metro Rail has resumed operations after its weekly holiday to a smaller crowd after an initial frenzy over the launch of the service.

Ahmed Abdullah Nafis, a student of Chattogram University, arrived at the Agargaon station at 9 am on Wednesday fearing a long queue. To his surprise, there was no line at the entrance gate.

Members of law enforcement are also breathing a sigh of relief as the number of passengers has dropped.

Policemen Subir and Prabhas, stationed at the Agargaon station, said passengers began arriving around 7:15 am but no one had to wait in line.

A group of college students who came all the way from Chattogram to ride the metro rail were also pleased with the experience.

“We came to Dhaka to experience the journey by metro rail. We were pleasantly surprised after getting the opportunity to travel by train so easily. We bought the tickets ourselves at the vending machines. Everything is great.”

The Sher-e-Bangla Government Boys' High School and College is next to the Agargaon station. Several students of the school were spotted at the ticket counter.

Students Safwan and Adnan said that they were not prepared to make the trip today. “But we still came here to visit. We will ride a metro train tomorrow with friends if there is no long queue.”

Metro trains are running straight from Uttara to Agargaon without stopping at intermediate stations along the route for now. Initially, the metro rail will be operational from 8 am to 12 pm and the service hours, along with the number of trains, will be extended later based on the demand. A train will wait for passengers at each platform for 10 minutes for the first few days.

The service will be closed every Tuesday. Each passenger will have to pay Tk 60 to travel from Diabari to Agargaon.