THE 8.72km Agargaon - Motijheel section of MRT Line 6 in Dhaka was officially opened by the prime minister of Bangladesh, Ms Sheikh Hasina, on November 4, accompanied by road transport and bridges minister, Mr Obaidul Quader.

Public services began on November 5, with trains operating every 10 minutes from 07.30 to 11.30. The journey time from Agargaon to Motijheel is currently 14 minutes, calling at the intermediate stations of Farmgate and Secretariat (Press Club).

Opening of the remaining intermediate stations at Karwan Bazar, Shahbag and Dhaka University, which are expected to be completed within three months, will extend the end-to-end journey time by around 7 minutes.

According to Mr M A N Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTCL), Line 6 is currently used by 90,000 passengers a day, which is expected to rise to 500,000 passengers a day when all stations between Uttara and Motijheel are fully operational.

Each train on Line 6 can accommodate up to 2300 passengers. The maximum speed is 110km/h.

The first section of Line 6 opened on December 28 2022, running for 11.7km from Uttara North to Agargaon with seven intermediate stations.

A further 1.16 km extension from Motijheel to Kamalapur railway station is expected to be completed by June 2024, taking Line 6 to its full length of 21.26km between Uttara North and Kamalapur. In total, the elevated Line 6 is expected to cost Taka 334.72bn ($US 3.04bn) to build.

Construction of Dhaka’s first underground metro line, MRT Line 1, was inaugurated on February 2, and on November 4 Hasina also unveiled a plaque at Motijheel station to mark the start of work on MRT Line-5.

This will run for 20km from Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur-10 and Gulshan. Completion is expected by 2028 at a cost of Taka 412.39bn.

MRT Line-5 is the third of six planned metro lines in Dhaka, where the government aims to complete a 140km network to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

When complete, the new metro network will be able to carry up to 60,000 passengers an hour and 500,000 passengers a day, with trains operating every four minutes.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has provided a total of Taka 195bn in loan funding for metro projects in Dhaka.

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