PM opens metro rail’s Agargaon-Motijheel part

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the second phase of the much-desired metro rail service from Agargaon to Motijheel.

She inaugurated the Agargaon-Motijheel section around 2.30pm on Saturday (November 4) from the Agargaon station. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader was present during the inaugural ceremony.

Now, commuters will be able to take the train from Uttara to Motijheel by half an hour.

Earlier, on December 28, the Prime Minister inaugurated the first phase of the first ever metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon.

Besides, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that the metro rail will stop at three stations on Agargaon-Motijheel 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.

On the Uttara-Motijheel route, the metro will run daily from 7:30am to 11:30am from 5 November, the minister said.

He also added that after 11:30am, metro rail movement will be stopped on the Motijheel-Agargaon route, while it will operate up to 8:30pm in the Uttara-Agargaon section.

Considering convenience, the route has been extended by 1.16 km from Motijheel to Kamalapur, Quader said the extended portion will be completed by June 2024.

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.

After assuming power in 2009, the Awami League government took various initiatives to reduce the pressure on the capital. Initiatives were taken to build metro rail across the capital to ease traffic congestion, according to the project details.

The metro rail will be able to carry 60 thousand 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.