Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally inaugurated the country’s first metro rail this morning (Wednesday). She opened a section of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 by unveiling a plaque at the playground of Uttara sector-15 at 11:04am. The section of MRT Line-6 connects the capital’s Agargaon to Uttara North.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her speech highlighted the four milestones in the country’s development that the inauguration of metro rail has brought about. The PM said that there is a metro rail in Bangladesh is in itself an achievement. Another milestone is that the trains will be run by electricity, making the project an environmentally friendly one. The trains can be run remotely, and that is a milestone in the path towards a Smart Bangladesh.
It will also mark the advent of high-speed trains in Bangladesh, she said, adding that the trains can reach a speed of 110 kilometres per hour. She said the first phase of the metro rail has been inaugurated, and the rest will be inaugurated soon.
Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, said the party had pledged to reduce traffic congestion and had taken a number of steps to achieve that by 2030. She requested the people who would ride the metro rail to protect it and keep it clean, which is the responsibility of the users.
Apart from PM, Sheikh Rehana; Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Rawshan Ara Mannan, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on road transport and bridges ministry; local AL MP Mohammad Habib Hasan, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique; MRT Line-6 Project Director Aftab Uddin Talukder; new Japanese Ambassador to Dhaka Iwama Kiminori and JICA Chief Representative in Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide took seats on the stage.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are financiers of the metro rail project.
