By Maloy Kumar Dutta & AKM Kamal Uddin Chowdhury 

DHAKA, Nov 4, 2023 (BSS) - Long-wait of Dhaka dwellers especially of Mirpur areas for opening of the metro-rail's 8.72km Agargaon-Motijheel part comes to an end as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally open the second phase of the 20.1 km MRT Line-6 today.

"We are very much happy that metro rail operation from Agargaon to Motijheel will commence today. We will be able to enjoy a developed transport facility due to the inauguration," said Biplab Mallik, a private service holder residing in Shewrapara area.

He said: "We had to suffer due to construction work of the project. But now we are the most blessed citizens to have that advanced environment friendly and safest rail service. It will change our daily lifestyle.

Rafiqul Islam, a government employ and resident of Mirpur-10, said now he has to face a great deal of hassle due to city's traffic congestion to reach his office at Purana Paltan area from his residence but the opening of metro-rail service up to Motijheel will be very conducive for him to reach office quickly and safely.

"Traffic jam has great impact on our mental health as I became tired due to traffic jam to reach my office every day and it put impact on our office work performance as well," he said.

Proloy Roy, a banker residing in Mirpur-13, said she had to go office in Motijheel area and needs on an average 2 hours to reach his office but after opening of the rail service up to Motijheel, it will be really a magical transport for her to safely and quickly reach her office and return home. 
 
She also demanded that the service should be continued at least till 10pm to enable the citizens to avail the advanced service.
 
Talking to BSS, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary A B M Amin Ullah Nuri said initially on the Uttara-Motijheel route, the metro will run from 7.30am to 11.30am from November 5 after inauguration of Agargaon-Motijheel part today by the premier.

He said after 11:30am, the service from Motijheel-Agargaon part will kept stopped now but it will operate up to 8:30pm on Uttara-Agargaon section.

"The length of the Agargaon to Motijheel section is 8.72km. The metro rail will stop at Farmgate, Secretariat and Motijheel stations," he said.
Now the stoppages of the metro rail from Agargaon to Motijheel part are Farmgate, Secretariat (Press Club) and Motijheel stations, Nuri said.

When the all stations of MRT Line-6 will go in operation, it will need only 38 minutes to reach Motijheel from Uttara North station with current 10-minute interval and stoppages at 16 stations including Uttara North, Uttara Centre, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur 11, Mirpur 10, Kazipara, Shewrapara, Agargaon, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Dhaka University, Secretariat and Motijhel.

He said all stations of the line-6 will be opened by December and time of service will also be extended in phases in quickest possible time. 

Interval of trains will be reduced up to three minutes once the service starts operating in full fledge, said the road transport secretary. 

He urged the Dhaka dwellers to collect rapid pass from designated stations and booths of banks as early as possible to avoid long queue at stations to collect single passes.

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director MAN Siddique said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel part at 2.30pm today from the Agargaon station. 

Then, she will take the metro to Motijheel for another inaugural programme at the Motijheel station, he said.

The premier will also inaugurate the construction work of MRT Line-5 (Northern route), which will be a 20-km line from Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur-10, Gulshan. The deadline for the Taka 41,239 crore project is 2028.

He said that regular metro service from Uttara to Agargaon will be suspended on Saturday (November 4) due to the inaugural ceremony.
 
Earlier, on December 28, the Prime Minister inaugurated the first phase of the country's first ever metro rail service from Uttara to Agargaon part.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at a press conference on Thursday said the MRT Line-6 has been extended by 1.16 km from Motijheel to Kamalapur considering convenience of the commuters
The extended portion will be completed by June 2024, he said.

Each train can run at a speed of 100 to 110 km with 2,300 passengers.

However, the speed will be lower in areas with bends.
 
The metro rail will be able to carry 60,000 passengers per hour and half a million passengers per day and one train will arrive at each station every four minutes.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been constructing the metro rail and providing soft loan to the project. The JICA gave Taka 19,500 crore for the project.

After assuming power in 2009, the Awami League government took various initiatives to reduce the pressure on the capital.