Dhaka’s metro rail authority plans to add two more trains at night and is considering extending service hours from next month. The move follows heavy crowds on the final trains, which many commuters use to reach home after work.
Since June 7, metro rail service in both directions has been extended by 20 minutes at night, but the last train operates with a 20-minute gap. Adding two trains has increased daily passenger travel by about 10,000. The authority plans to start the two additional trains toward the end of this month, reducing the gap between the final trains to seven or eight minutes.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, which operates the metro, is considering extending service by another 20 to 30 minutes from September. If approved, the last train would run at 11pm. Officials said preparations are under way and new operators have been recruited; their training ends on August 26.
At present, the last train leaves Motijheel for Uttara at 10:30pm and the final Uttara-bound train leaves Uttara at 9:50pm. The first train leaves Uttara for Motijheel at 6:30am and Motijheel for Uttara at 7:15am. There is currently no plan to extend morning service.
Officials say the system can run one train every three and a half minutes. The project had envisaged service from morning until midnight, but staffing shortages prevented that. Service hours are now being expanded gradually.
About 500,000 passengers were expected to travel daily between Uttara and Motijheel, while current ridership averages about 450,000 a day. The line is being extended to Kamalapur and the extension could open next year; daily ridership is then projected to reach 677,000. Dhaka’s metro rail began service on December 28, 2022, initially between Uttara and Agargaon. All stations to Motijheel opened at the end of 2023.
DMTC director for operations and maintenance Mohammad Nazrul Islam said the decision to add two night trains had been made and the date would be finalized soon. He said work was also under way to extend night operating hours next month.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report