DHAKA, July 7, 2023 (BSS) - Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel section of metro rail in the last week of October.

"If everything remains okay, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the commercial run of metro rail on Agargaon-Motijheel route in the last week of October this year," he told a function arranged at Agargaon here to inaugurate the test run of metro rail on this route.

The road transport and bridges minister opened the test run of metro rail from Agargaon to Motijheel at 4:34 pm today.

Speaking at the function, he said three stations - Farmgate, Bangladesh Secretariat, and Motijheel - would initially be opened when trains start running on the Agargaon-Motijheel route and then the number of stations will be increased gradually considering the reality. 

Afterwards, he said, the city commuters will be able to travel from Uttara to Motijheel uninterruptedly and Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has completed all preparations in this regard. 

Quader, also the Awami League general secretary, said metrorail is no longer a dream but a reality. At present, 70,000 local and foreign passengers are traveling by the metro rail on average daily and the number of its passengers is on the rise. 

Now the average daily income of metro rail is about Taka 26 lakh, he added.

The road transport and bridges minister said the Agargaon-Motijheel section of the metro rail has been inaugurated on trial basis today and it is expected that the premier will open this part in October next. 

To this end, he said, all the tests will continue in phases from today till October 15. These tests will be conducted on Friday during day time and on other days at night. 

Law enforcement agencies have already been instructed to take adequate security measures during the tests, Quader said.