Metro rail to initially run for 4hrs from 8am

Metro rail will initially run for four hours a daily from 8:00am and the duration will be increased as passengers get habituated with the new mode of public transport.

In the beginning, the trains will run between Uttara and Agargaon without any stoppages.

The authorities will start selling single- and multiple-use cards on Thursday, a day after the inauguration of the country's first metro rail, MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, which will operate the service, told The Daily Star last night.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Uttara-Agargaon section of the metro rail on Wednesday and people will be able to commute from the following day.

Earlier, the metro rail authorities had planned to operate metro rail two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening for the first few days.

"But we have taken final decision to run trains from 8:00am to noon in the beginning considering people's benefit," Siddique said.

The authorities also had a plan to start selling tickets after prime minister leaves the site launching the country's first metro rail.

"But it would take time for withdrawal of security personnel from the site. So, we have decided to start selling tickets from the December 29 morning," he said.

Talking to reporters earlier, Siddique said they would take three months to start fully-fledged operation of metro rail service.