Metro rail trains will depart from the Uttara North Station for the Agargaon Station every 10 minutes on Thursday following the launch of service and each train will carry about 200 passengers.
The timing and passenger capacity was confirmed by MAN Siddique, managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, to the media on Tuesday in the lead-up to the inauguration.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will launch the first section of the Dhaka rail line from the Uttara North Station in Diabari on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The government is still working on completing the entire 21.26 km span of the metro rail project from Uttara North to Kamalapur. The first section from Uttara North to Agargaon spans a distance of 11.73 km.
Trains will carry 200 passengers at a time to allow people to get used to the new system, Siddique said. The trains will stop at stations for 10 minutes to allow passengers to get on and off.
Once people are used to the new mass transit system, the train will also take on passengers from intermediate stations, Siddique said.
“We hope that we will be fully operational and will take on our full passenger capacity.”
DMTCL says that trains will run from 8 am to 12 pm for now and service will be closed once a week on Tuesdays.
It takes trains 10 minutes and 10 seconds to travel from Uttara North to Agargaon uninterrupted, the DMTCL managing director said.
The metro rail fare has been set at Tk 5 per kilometre. The fare to travel the first section of the rail line has been fixed at Tk 60.
Ten trains with six coaches each will operate along the Uttara-Agargaon line after launch, Siddique said. Two other trains will be kept on standby at the depot for additional needs.
