Dhaka Metro: Bangladesh capital opens first mass rapid transit line
2 min read
The largely Japanese-funded project, known as Line 6, was inaugurated at a ceremony by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina — who called the new railway a “milestone,” the Dhaka Tribune reported. Mail”. He said that another feather was added to the crown of development of Bangladesh.
He added that there would also be train coaches reserved for women only and said that the Dakkah Metro would help reduce traffic jams in the city “significantly”.
According to a statement issued by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the line, which stretches for 20 kilometers (about 12 miles), will serve 16 stations and cover the northern zone of Dhaka. It will be connected to government offices and hospitals. ).
It will eventually spread through the city to the financial district of Pearl Lake in the south, he added.
Commuters walk through a traffic jam in Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 13, 2022.
Qazi Salahuddin Razo/Norfo/AP
Dhaka is Bangladesh’s largest city, its clogged streets and traffic jams are a daily source of frustration for its more than 20 million inhabitants.
Experts note that Dhaka’s infrastructure has failed to keep up with the scale of its population. The problem, he says, is exacerbated by the country’s over-reliance on cars and the — until now — lack of organized public transportation.
Shawna Chaudhary, an undergraduate student at Bangladesh University, spends hours every day in buses, rickshaws and cars. He said he was looking forward to “changing up his daily commute”.
“So much of my life is technically wasted in traffic,” he told CNN. “This is a significant change for Bangladeshis. Public transport has the power to change our lives.”
He said that the new metro line was a ray of hope to improve the lives of Dhaka residents.
“The great global cities of Singapore, Japan and France have excellent public transport systems,” he said. “I hope that in time, Dhaka will see its transformation — fewer cars and road pollution will become the norm with the metro.”
Top photo: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina flags off the first journey of the metro rail in Dhaka on December 28, 2022. Credit: Sajjad Hussain/SOPA Images/SIPAPRE/AP
