Metro train in public domain for the first time
The country's first metro train was in the public domain today as it was driven to Diabari's coach unloading zone from the workshop this morning.
Earlier in the day, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd organised a programme at the depot for the display of the train.
Joining the programme virtually, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, "Metro rail is no more a dream now. It's a reality."
After completion of "receiving inspection", functional test is now going on inside the depot, the minister said.
Performance test of the train would be carried out on the viaduct in August. Then, an integrity test would be carried out before starting the trial run, he said.
After the programme, the first metro train, which is also the first electricity-powered rail in the country, was driven to the coach unloading zone from a workshop at a speed of 5km per hour.
When it reached the zone at 11:53am, officials, engineers and workers gathered there started clapping in joy.
Then, Road Transport and Highway Division's Secretary Nazrul Islam, DMTCL's managing director MAN Siddique, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh and few other officials entered the train and inspected it for a few minutes.
While journalists were busy discharging their professional duties, many were seen taking selfies with the train.
After around 40 minutes, the train was driven back to the workshop.
Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 or MRT-6, the country's first metro rail, is being built from the capital's Uttara third phase to Motijheel at a cost of Tk 22,000 crore.
Once complete, the metro train will be able to carry 60,000 people an hour, reducing travel time from Uttara to Motijheel to less than an hour despite having 16 stations. It now takes about two hours to travel the distance on a regular day.
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