The authorities concerned are confident to run the test trial of metro rail in the country in April this year. They have also unveiled that they will add two more stations till Mirpur and conduct trial run at three stations of metro rail.

Keeping the trial run target in mind the officials concerned and engineers have already built first three stations. Besides, ticket counters, stairs, escalators and passengers lift are also being constructed simultaneously.

At the stations, special arrangements will be made to ensure uninterrupted passengers movement who stop every three minutes. Adequate lights and ventilation system will also be available at the stations.

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited recently told media that, “We have planned to run test trials in Uttara North, Uttara Central and Uttara South. But we are trying to bring two more stations under the test trial so that the city dwellers witness the trial inside the city. Work on each of the 18 stations is now underway. Infrastructure construction of the first five platforms has been completed while the rest of the stations’ pilling work is yet to be done.”

The 20.10-kilometer (km) metro rail is being constructed from Uttara to Motijheel at a cost of around Tk 22,000 crore to reduce traffic congestion in the capital. Divided into two parts, the first part of the project under construction from Uttara to Agargaon has progressed by 78.38 percent and from Agargaon to Motijheel it has been progressed by 49.47 percent.

The combined progress of electronic and mechanical systems and rolling stock (rail coaches) and depot equipment procurement has been 34.82 percent. The overall average progress of the construction work of the first metro rail of Bangladesh has been 55.19 percent.

According to the project details, the metro rail is projected to carry 60,000 passengers per hour by traveling the entire route of 21.26 kms from Uttara to Motijheel-Kamalapur Railway Station in less than 40 minutes.