The officials of Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Limited (DMTCL) are hopeful that they will start the formal procedures to bring the first set of the metro rail coaches to the country as soon as the air and vessel connectivity between countries resume following the improvement in coronavirus situation.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to bring the metro rail coaches within this year”, an official of DMTCL said.
Deputy Principal Information Officer of the Road Transport and Highway Department Abu Naser while talking to Bangladesh Post said, “The first set of the metro rail coaches was scheduled to arrive on July 16. However, the process was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
“Meanwhile, the authorities are doing other development work. These include setting up “Overhead Catenary System” and rail tracks on the viaduct,” he added.
The metro rail track under MRT6 service starting from Uttara’s Diabari to Motijheel via Agargaon will operate 24 sets of coaches. The two construction companies of Japan- Mitsubishi and Kawasaki- have already made ready one set of a train for supply.
The first set of Metrorail trains with six-passenger coaches was completed in the first week of April this year. According to the agreement, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi will supply five sets of trains to the country by December this year.
The remaining 19 sets will arrive in Bangladesh by December 2021.
Bringing 24 sets of trains to Bangladesh with price, duty, and VAT will cost Tk 4,257.34 crore. As a result, the price of one set of a train will be Tk 177.38 crore.
According to the project schedule, the government aims to launch Metrorail by the end of the next year.
However, due to the outbreak of pandemic coronavirus, the overall average progress of construction (as of July) is 47.10 percent.
The situation caused by the coronavirus has further slowed down the work of the project. In spite of the roadblocks, the project officials expect the completion of the work within the stipulated time.
DMTCL officials said the trains built by Kawasaki-Mitsubishi will run on a DC of 1,500 volts. The body of the passenger coach is made of stainless steel.
There will be vertical seats for sitting on both sides. Each carriage has four doors. Each train will be air-conditioned and able to carry a maximum of 1,738 passengers.
In the meantime, the authorities concerned have bought a 'mock-up' train in the country to give an idea of what the country's first metro rail trains will look like. The ‘Mock-Up’ train has been set up at the Metrorail Depot Exhibition and Information Center at Diabari in Uttara.
