Metro network to expand around Dhaka
The metro rail network is planned to expand to the adjacent districts of Dhaka with a view to reducing traffic congestion and lessening migrating population pressure on the capital.
In the first phase, Narayanganj and Gazipur are prioritised for the extension of metro rail lines, people concerned said, adding that other districts i.e. Narsingdi, Munshiganj and Manikganj would be connected in the later phases.
The construction of a 129.90-kilometre metro rail route by 2030 has been finalised, which includes the Mass Rapid Transit Line-4, stretching from Dhaka's Kamalapur to Narayanganj, MAN Siddique, managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), told The Business Standard.
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The Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) and the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) are working together to finalise the alignments of the metro rail routes towards the suburban areas, said officials connected to the plans.
The DTCA has already launched a project to update the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) for Dhaka and its surrounding areas with support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR).
Once this plan is executed, the total length of the metro lines will be 250 kilometres and the metro rail will carry about 75 lakh passengers every day.
"After the completion of the first phase, the metro rail network will be expanded to Gazipur Chowrasta, Baipail in Savar, Rupganj and Barapa in Narayanganj, and Jhilmil in Keraniganj," MAN Siddique said.
The new routes will be finalised after the RSTP is updated, he added.
MAN Siddique said the main objective of the metro rail expansion plan is to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka metropolis by 2030.
"Different facilities encourage people to move to Dhaka. Metro rail in all these areas will act as a push factor. Working people will commute to Dhaka every day from the nearby districts," he added.
Transport experts and urban planners have, however, questioned the rationale for investing heavily in constructing metro rail lines to reduce traffic congestion.
Shamsul Haque, professor of civil engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), said, "Traffic congestion in the capital can be reduced through small investments and a planned management. Projects like metro rail should be taken to decentralise the capital by encouraging people to live in small towns and rural areas."
MRT Line-6 to extend to Gazipur
According to people concerned, the construction of the first metro rail line, from Uttara to Kamalapur, is nearing completion.
In the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) formulated in 2015, there was a proposal to extend the line to the Baipail area of Dhaka-Tangail highway.
Similarly, the MRT Line-5 (North) project that is under construction from Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Mirpur-10, Kachukhet and Banani also will extend to Baipail.
The Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) formulated in 2016 proposed building the MRT Line-6 up to Ashulia. But the government moved away from the plan to extend the Airport-Kamalapur metro rail line to Gazipur because of the construction work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project on the same route.
MAN Siddique said there will be a proposal to extend the MRT Line-6 to Gazipur in the updated plan. "As a result, the length of the 21.60-km line will increase to 41.8 km. And the daily passenger transport capacity will increase from 4.83 lakh to 18.17 lakh," he said.
Meanwhile, the construction work on the 20-km metro rail line from Hemayetpur to Bhatara via Mirpur-10 will start next year. The project was approved in 2019. The line would be extended to Baipail in the west and to Bhulta on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway via Rupganj in the east. The total length of the line would be 60 km.
On the other hand, the MRT Line-5 (South) project, from Gabtoli to Dasherkandi via Russell Square and Aftabnagar, has been finalised with Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding.
There is a plan to extend this line further east to Barpa in the updated RSTP. As a result, two metro rail lines will reach the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.
