Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director MAN Siddique has said that the metro rail will run on Uttara-Agargaon route from dawn to 12 midnight from December. Talking to BSS today, he elaborated about the implementation progress of the Mass Rapid Transit Line 6 project. The overall progress of MRT Line 6 reached 81.70 percent, while the progress works on Uttara to Agargaon route first phase rose to 93.86 percent, Siddique said. "We will start a system integration test from September 1. After that we will test plying of the metro train without passengers for 15 to 20 days. Then, we can start operation with passengers in December," he added. The managing director said initially, the Metrorail will be launched with 10 set of trains, adding, "On the first day, the train will be run after 10 minutes and the second day it may be down to seven minutes." However, the operation time will be depended on train passenger pressure, he said. "If there are many passengers waiting for train then we will start train every three and a half minutes," Siddique said. He said that the second phase progress of the construction work from Agargaon to Motijheel is 81.86 percent and the overall progress of electrical and mechanical work is 83.34 percent. The managing director said that a mother vessel having two sets of metro rail anchored at Mongla port from Japan today. He said as per the decision of the government, we are working towards launching Uttara to Agargaon MRT Line 6 in December. Source: BSS AH

Though the first coach of metrorail has reached in the country in due time frame but due to slow pace of construction work it is uncertain that when it will start. But the concerned officials think that if not possible to start in full fledged it could be started on experimental basis in the coming Victory Day. The managing director of metrorail project is optimistic about that. He hopes that everything will be completed in time. The construction work of rail track starting from Diabari, Uttara to the fifth station at Pallabi is going on in full swing. The authority claimed that 80 per cent construction work of first station at Uttara has been completed over the last four years but no stair or escalator is yet to set up. Rail slippers were fitted but the construction work of electric line has not been completed. The work of other stations is going on slowly. In this regard metrorail project managing director M A N Siddik said, the spaces for the lifts were constructed. Now lifts have to be placed. Work for electric connection is going on. We hope that the work will be completed before the stipulated time frame. We hope the metrorail will start in due time. He also said, metrorail stations will be constructed keeping similarity with Kamalapur Station. If the rail authority demolishes or shift the Kamalapur station with their initiative then we have nothing to do. AH