City commuters are very happy as the metro rail extended operation time on Uttara-Motijheel route till 8:30pm from Saturday, which has ended their perennial sufferings on road while going to their destinations.
People, who opt for travelling by metro rail, have got a great relief as they will no longer have to face severe traffic congestion in the capital. They will now be able to reach their destinations comfortably even during peak hours.
Many commuters while talking to the Bangladesh Post, said they are very excited to have the metro service till night. ‘We can now reach our destinations through metro rail service comfortably,” a commuter said.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), which is responsible for operating Dhaka Metro Rail, extended metro service from Uttara to Motijheel from 7:10 am to 8:40pm from Saturday. While
visiting a metro station it was seen that commuters thronged the station to avail themselves of service to enjoy a safe, comfortable and quick journey.
“Unbearable sufferings and hassle on roads seem to be over as I can now easily go to my office at Motihjeel from Mirpur-10 through metro service,” Sohel Uddin, an owner of a private farm, said.
“It now takes only 22 minutes to go to my office. Earlier, I had to lose at least two valuable hours by car,” he added.
As per the schedule, the first metro train leaves Uttara for Motijheel at 7:10am and operation of the metro service continues till 8:30pm, while the last train leaves Motijheel at 8:40pm.
Earlier, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 was operated from 7:30 am to 11:30 am on Uttara-Motijheel route, while it is being run from 7:10 am to 8:00 pm on Uttara-Agargaon portion.
“Earlier, it took nearly 2 to 3 hours to reach my destination in Uttara in the afternoon. Today, I will be in Uttara from Motijheel in less than an hour,” Rawshan Zaman, who resides in Uttara, said.
Zaman said he used metro rail for going to office at Motijheel but he had to travel by bus in the afternoon as the metro operation from Agargaon to Motijheel section remained stopped after 11.30am.
Biplab Mallik, a resident of Shewrapara area and an employee of a private office at Karwan Bazar where he has to attend his work in the afternoon shift, said earlier, they had to take bus for going to his office but now he can use metro for going to office and returning home.
Shamima Hossain, a student of Dhaka University and a resident of the city’s Tejgaon area, said that considering my safety, she used to attend her classes at the university coming by rickshaw or CNG-run auto-rickshaw.
"But it is very costly. Metro offers a new hope as we will now be able to reach the destination within just 5-6 minutes, which was once beyond our imagination,” she added.
It needs only 32 minutes to reach Motijheel from Uttara North station with 10-minute interval and stoppages at all stations which include Uttara North, Uttara Centre, Uttara South, Pallabi, Mirpur 11, Mirpur 10, Kazipara, Shewrapara, Agargaon, Bijoy Sharani, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel.
On November 4, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the second phase of the metro rail's Agargaon-Motijheel portion with stopover in three stations—Farmgate, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel. Later, all the remaining stations have been inaugurated in phases.
Currently, 1.30 lakh to 1.50 lakh people are using metro rail every day, which is much higher than expected.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 28, 2022 inaugurated the country’s first metro rail ‘Dhaka Metro Rail.’ The metro rail went into commercial operation the following day.
