Although partial operation of metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon is scheduled in December next year, it would have little impact on the capital’s overall traffic situation. It will be helpful only for commuters from Uttara to Mirpur, but the people who will go to Motijheel and other points will face tremendous transport scarcity at Agargaon. According to a news report published on Friday, people will have to wait till December 2023 to use the metro to travel from Uttara to Motijheel. Transport experts said that passengers may face a serious scarcity of transports, especially at Agargaon, because more pressure will be put on other forms of public transport, as people will get off the metro.
Taking the capital’s current traffic situation into account, they said that launching a single metro line would ensure partial operation of a single line which would be just for the sake of launching something. But partial maintenance and operation would increase overhead operational costs. Metro rail authorities however said they have already reached an understanding with Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), which will operate buses from Uttara and Agargaon dedicatedly for metro rail passengers. On the basis of the progress made so far, it will be possible to meet the demand for buses from Uttara and Agargaon, said the authorities of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, which is implementing the metro rail project, at an online news briefing on Thursday.
The Mass Rapid Transit Line is being constructed between Uttara and Motijheel at a cost of around Tk 22,000 crore. Once completed, it will be able to transport 60,000 people per hour and would reduce travel time from Uttara to Motijheel from about two hours to 40 minutes. Traffic congestion in Dhaka city has been a regular phenomenon. Due to congestion, valuable time of the Dhaka dwellers is being wasted every day. But a partial launch of the metro rail service up to Agargaon will likely vitiate the traffic jam around there obstructing movement of transports on different roads carrying commuters to and from offices and other passengers to different destinations.
