It is learned that the first train for the country's metro rail under construction has left for Bangladesh by ship from Kobe port in Japan.
MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the implementing agency of the project, confirmed to Barta24.com that it left the port at 7pm local time in Japan (3pm Bangladesh time) on Thursday (March 4).
Asked when the carriage would arrive in the country, he said, "We hope the train will reach Dhaka by April 23." But it also depends on the weather, he said.
Meanwhile, construction work of Metro Rail started in 2018 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital and make the journey of city dwellers comfortable and fast. The metro train will run with passengers at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. The Metrorail will have the capacity to carry 60,000 passengers per hour from both sides. The country's first Metrorail Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 is being constructed from Uttara to Motijheel at a cost of Tk. 22,000 crore.
In addition, in August 2018, DMTCL signed an agreement with the Kawasaki-Mitsubishi Consortium to build 24 sets of trains for the Metrorail. Five sets of trains were made by December last year. This train set has been delayed to reach the country on time due to corona.
The second train of Metrorail is scheduled to reach the depot on June 18 and the third train on August 13.