Bangladesh rolls out its first mass-transit metro

Dhaka, one of the most densely populated and congested cities in the world, where over 20 million people live, launched its first metro line last week.

After coming into full operation, the first phase of the service is expected to carry 60,000 people each hour.

The service will significantly solve Dhaka’s painful car-crowded traffic problem, which annually penalizes its economy with around $3 billion a year in lost work time as the public suffers in prolonged traffic jams waiting to reach their destination.

Dhaka’s metro line, known as Line 6, is an elevated rail network, that stretches over 20 km, and connects with 16 stations.

It plans to expand service, opening a second section in December 2023 and a third one in the next phase, to more than 100 stations and six lines intersecting the city by 2030.

Earlier in June, Bangladesh inaugurated a 6.5 km bridge spanning the Padma River, connecting Dhaka with the underdeveloped southwestern Bangladesh, which was fully financed by the Bangladesh government and built at an investment of over $3.5 billion by a Chinese developer.