Trains under the metro rail services from today will run around one hour more to accommodate the growing pressure of passengers, according to a Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited announcement.聽
Following the new schedule, the first train of the day will start from Uttara at 6:30am and the last train will start from Motijheel at 10:10pm.
Currently, metro train services are running only on the Uttara-Motijheel section under the Mass Rapid Transit Line project-6.
Previously, from Saturdays to Thursdays, the first metro train used to start from the Uttara station at 7:10am and the last one used to start at 9:00pm, while from the Motijheel station the first metro train started at 7:30am and the last one started at 9:40pm.
According to a new schedule published on October 16 to be followed from today, between Saturdays and Thursdays, the first metro train will start from the Uttara station at 6:30am, 40 minutes earlier than its previous starting time, while the last one will start at 9:30pm, 30 minutes later than its previous schedule.
From the Motijheel station the first metro train will start at 7:15am, 15 minutes earlier than its previous starting time, and the last one will start at 10:10pm, 30 minutes later than its previous schedule.
The previous schedule for the Fridays will remain unchanged, said DMTCL managing director Faruque Ahmed on Saturday.
On Fridays, the first trip starts at 3:00pm and the last at 9:40pm.
鈥楾he one hour increase is unlikely to result in more passengers taking the service, but it will enable the passengers to travel more comfortably,鈥� DMTCL managing director Faruque Ahmed said.
He also said that they were planning to reduce the time gap between the trains by one minute but it would take one more month to execute the plan.
Once the time gap between the trains was reduced, the daily on average number of passengers was expected to rise to around 5,00,000 from the current average of 4,00,000 daily, he added.聽
Earlier the company extended the metro rail services by one hour in September on pilot basis.
The DMTCL is the implementing agency of a network of 140.83 kilometre-long six MRT lines in the capital city, both elevated and underground ones.
Metro rail construction work began in 2016 in Dhaka city and expected to be complete by 2030, aiming at to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment of the city and areas around it.
The first metro rail project, the 21.26-kilometre-long MRT Line-6, which starts from Uttara and ends at Kamalapur, had its Uttara-Agargaon section inaugurated in December 2022 and was later extended to Motijheel, which was opened in November 2023.
The construction of the rest of the line up to Kamalapur is expected to be completed by this year.
According to the project target, around five lakh passengers are expected to travel on the Uttara-Motijheel corridor daily, while around 6.5 lakh passengers are expected to use the Uttara-Kamalapur route once it is finished.
