Dhaka's 1st metro train completes test run

Bangladesh's first metro rail train completed its maiden test run in Dhaka's Uttara on Tuesday.

The train, also the first electricity-powered rail in the country, crossed 500 metres with six compartments during the trial run at the Diabari depot around 12pm, according to media reports.

The train was driven by a driver from the Kawasaki-Mitsubishi Consortium to the coach unloading zone from a workshop at a speed of 5km per hour.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader had virtually joined the event organized by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader had virtually joined the event organized by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd.

Addressing the program, the minister said: "The average progress of the construction work of the first metro rail in Bangladesh is 63.2%. The progress of the construction work from Uttara to Agargaon section, scheduled to be completed in the first phase, is 84.9%."

He further said that the progress of the construction work from Agargaon to Motijheel section scheduled to be implemented in the second phase is 59.7% and the overall progress of procurement of electrical and mechanical system, rolling stock and depot equipment is 54.4%.

The country's first metro rail -- Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 or MRT-6 -- is being built from the capital's Uttara to Motijheel at a cost of Tk22,000 crore.

Once complete, a train will be able to carry 60,000 people every hour, hugely reducing travel time. The route will also have 16 stations.

The first shipment of metro rail coaches from Japan had arrived in Dhaka on April 21.

The Kawasaki-Mitshubishi Consortium of Japan had started construction of 24 sets of the metro train with six coaches each and one rescue train for MRT-6 in April 2019, under a Tk2,870 crore deal signed in 2017. The deal is valid until December next year.

The construction of the first train was completed in April last year and the second in September.