The country’s metro rail will help save nine percent of annual gross domestic product (GDP) loss in Dhaka caused by traffic snarl.
Bangladesh Development Research Institute (BIDS) and Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) sources said this.
Due to traffic congestion, Dhaka loses about 2.5 percent or Tk 87,000 crore of the gross domestic product (GDP) annually, officials said.
This loss happens thanks mainly to the severe traffic congestion on the 128km road network in Dhaka city and, therefore, the government plans to build six metro lines with a length of 128 km by 2030, they said.
Of those, 11.73 km line from Uttara to Agargaon under MRT-6 will open tomorrow (on December 28). This will reduce the loss by 9 percent.
However, metro rail is no longer a dream for the people of Dhaka. The city dwellers have already seen the trial run and they are now waiting for the opening.
This 21.3 km long metro rail line from Uttara to Kamalapur is known as MRT-6.
Twenty-four trains running to both directions can carry 60,000 passengers per hour and five lakh passengers per day. Each train will have six coaches, which can be upgraded in future, and each train will be able to carry a maximum of 2,308 passengers.
Kamalapur can be reached from Uttara via Motijheel in just 40 minutes, which will reduce traffic congestion and save working hours and time.
However, if Metrorail Line-6 is fully operational next year, the loss will be reduced by about 20 percent.
MAN Siddique, managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), said, “You must be seeing people sitting on the road for hours on end. None can guarantee how much time it takes to reach from Uttara to Kamalapur. But it can be reached in 38 to 40 minutes by metro rail.”
The level of loss will be reduced to some extent through Metrorail-6, he mentioned.
When six metro rails will be launched fully, there will be no loss in Dhaka due to traffic congestion, he hopes.
Meanwhile, metro rail is fully elevated and electrified. There are 17 stations on this route. These are Uttara North, Uttara Center, Uttara south, Pallabi, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-10, Kazipara, Sheorapara, Agargaon, Vijay Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Secretariat, Motijheel and Kamalapur.
The journey of MRT Line-6 will begin with 24 sets of metro rail trains of international standards. Each set of Metrorail trains will initially have six coaches, with provision to increase the number of coaches to eight by adding two more coaches later.
A state-of-the-art Operations Control Center will continue to ensure smooth operation, maintenance and improved service of Metrorail.
Metrorail stations will be elevated for the convenience of passengers. The ticket counter and other facilities will be on the second floor and the train platform will be on the third floor.
Every Metrorail station will have state-of-the-art facilities of international standards including lifts, escalators, round-the-clock CCTV camera monitoring, and automatic ticket collection machines at entrances. By using the Rapid Pass, passengers can travel on the Metrorail in a hassle-free manner.
To ensure the safety of passengers, safety fences or 'Platform Screen Doors' will be installed on the station platforms.
Men and women, young and old, disabled, rich and poor, all can travel by metro rail in a comfortable environment.
Eco-friendly metro rail coaches will be air-conditioned with a well-arranged seating arrangement. People can have necessary information related to journey on display. Each train coach will have designated seats for passengers using wheelchairs. Metrorail will have its own power supply system to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
The Elevated Metrorail will be built about 13 meters above the ground and have floating slab tracks to control vibrations. Sound insulation walls will be installed to control noise. These measures will protect the historical and important structures located on the Metrorail route from all possible adverse effects.
Metrorail will stop on both sides of each station every four and a half minutes during peak hours of the day.