MRT Line 1 (Dhaka Metro Rail)

The MRT Line 1 (Bengali: এমআরটি লাইন ১) is Dhaka Metro Rail's rapid transit line under construction. It will be the second of the Dhaka Metro Rail system and will be operated by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL). Its construction started in February 2023. It is scheduled to open in December 2026.^[1]

Mass Rapid Transit Line 1
Overview
Status	Under construction
Owner	Road Transport and Highways Division
Locale	Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh
Termini	Dhaka Airport (North) / Purbachal Terminal (Northeast) Kamalapur (South)
Stations	21
Colour on map	Red (#DA291C)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Dhaka Metro Rail
Operator(s)	Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited
Depot(s)	Pitalganj, Rupganj
Daily ridership	800,000 (estimated)
History
Commenced	2 February 2023 (2023-02-02)
Planned opening	December 2026 (2026-12)
Technical
Line length	Airport route: 19.872 kilometres (12.348 mi) Purbachal route: 11.361 kilometres (7.059 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	Elevated (Purbachal route) Underground (Airport route)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail (Airport route) 1,500 V DC overhead catenary (Purbachal route)
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Highest elevation	Purbachal route: 13 metres (43 ft)
Route map Legend Pitalganj Depot Purbachal Terminal Purbachal East Purbachal Center Purbachal West Narayanganj– Bahadurabad Ghat Tongi Canal Airport Mostul Airport Terminal 3 Boalia Khilkhet Joar Sahara Nadda Notun Bazar 5N North Badda Badda Aftabnagar 5S Rampura Malibagh Rajarbagh Kamalapur 2 4 6 Narayanganj– Bahadurabad Ghat This diagram: view talk edit

History

In 2005, the World Bank published a study report, recommending that the government of Bangladesh build a mass transit system in Dhaka. In the same year, American consultancy firm Louis Berger Group prepared a strategic transport plan for Dhaka.^[2] The World Bank helped to develop this plan, which proposed the construction of five MRT lines in Dhaka.^[3] The five metro lines were MRT Line 1, MRT Line 2, MRT Line 4, MRT Line 5 and MRT Line 6. The budget for MRT Line 1 was set at ৳52,561.43 crore of which Japan International Cooperation Agency agreed to finance 75%. Construction of the line is targeted for December 2026.^[4] In 2019, the government finalized the construction project of the line.^[5] But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, progress on the line's project stalled.^[6] On 15 June 2022, the license of MRT Line 1 was handed over to DMTCL by the Road Transport and Highways Division.^[7] On 23 October 2022, the government signed an agreement with Nippon Koei Bangladesh Limited to join the company as a consultant for MRT Line 1.^[8] In the same year, the government entered into an agreement with Tokyo Construction and Max Infrastructure for the land development work of the only depot of the proposed project at Pitalganj.^[5] On 28 December 2022, the day of the inauguration of MRT Line 6, the secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Department said that the construction of the project is possible to start in the first month of 2023 subject to the approval of the prime minister.^[9] Its construction was initially scheduled to begin on 26 January 2023, but was moved to 2 February.^[10] Finally, the construction of the MRT Line 1 project was inaugurated by Sheikh Hasina in 2 February.^[11] According to the information of the second meeting of the implementation committee of DMTCL released on 22 March 2023, the construction cost of the line may increase by ৳231.6 billion due to the need to increase the amount of land for acquisition by 39.17 acres and the increase in land prices.^[12]

Stations

Further information: List of Dhaka Metro Rail stations

Airport route

Its length is 19.872 km which is going to be built entirely underground. This route will go from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur with 12 stations.^[13] Commuters can transfer to MRT Line 5 from Notun Bazaar Station via an interchange.^[11]

Code	Name		Connections	Location	Opened
	English	Bengali
1	Airport	বিমানবন্দর		Bimanbandar Thana	2026
2	Airport Terminal 3	বিমানবন্দর টার্মিনাল ৩
3	Khilkhet	খিলক্ষেত		Khilkhet Thana
4	Nadda	নদ্দা		Vatara Thana
5	Notun Bazar	নতুন বাজার	MRT Line 5N	Badda Thana
6	North Badda	উত্তর বাড্ডা
7	Badda	বাড্ডা
8	Aftabnagar	আফতাবনগর	MRT Line 5S
9	Rampura	রামপুরা		Rampura Thana
10	Malibagh	মালিবাগ		Shahjahanpur Thana
11	Rajarbagh	রাজারবাগ
12	Kamalapur	কমলাপুর	Bus station Bangladesh Railway  MRT Line 2   MRT Line 4   MRT Line 6	Motijheel Thana

Purbachal route

The 11.361 km route will have 9 stations. It can go from Purbachal New Town to Notun Bazar. Nadda and Notun Bazar stations will be constructed underground while the rest will be elevated. Both Nadda and Notun Bazar stations will have interchanges.^[13]

Code	Name		Connections	Location	Opened
	English	Bengali
1	Notun Bazar	নতুন বাজার	MRT Line 5N	Vatara Thana	2026
2	Nadda	নদ্দা
3	Joar Sahara	জোয়ার সাহারা
4	Boalia	বোয়ালিয়া		Khilkhet
5	Mostul	মস্তুল
6	Purbachal West[a]	পূর্বাচল পশ্চিম	Pubachal
7	Purbachal Centre	পূর্বাচল মধ্য
8	Purbachal East	পূর্বাচল পূর্ব
9	Purbachal Terminal	পূর্বাচল টার্মিনাল

Issue

MRT Line 1 will have seven stations on Purbachal Expressway which will be on elevated line. Before construction began, it was known that the expressway might be damaged during the construction of the stations. MM Ehsan Jamil, director of the expressway construction project, claimed that he had demanded the metro authority to construct seven stations in Purbachal section underground. But it became impossible as the construction contract with JICA was done before that. Therefore, he suggested to start the work on the eastern part of MRT Line 1 with the construction of the expressway earlier to avoid damage to the expressway, but it could not be done due to various issues. Later, 4 meters space was left in the median strip of the expressway for the construction of the metro.^[14] Later the secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division assured that the construction of the line would be done in a coordinated manner so as not to cause major damage to the expressway. He also informed that the pillar of the line will be built on the median strip and the two columns of the station will be built on the green space on both sides of the expressway so that no space on the road will be used.^[15]

References

Notes

1. Previous proposed name was "Sheikh Hasina Cricket Stadium metro station".

Citations

1. "Dhaka MRT Line 1 construction begins". Railjournal. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
2. Rahman, Shamim (23 December 2022). "পুরোটাই উড়ালপথে নির্মাণ ভারতের 'মেট্রো ম্যান' শ্রীধরনের পরামর্শে". Bonikbarta.net (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
3. Zaman, Sheikh Shahriar (25 December 2022). "মেট্রোরেল ছিল বিরাট এক চ্যালেঞ্জ". Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
4. "এয়ারপোর্ট থেকে কমলাপুর আন্ডারগ্রাউন্ড লাইন হচ্ছে". Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
5. Islam, Jahidul (23 November 2022). "এমআরটি লাইন-১ প্রকল্পের ডিপো এলাকার ভূমি উন্নয়নের কাজ করবে জাপান, বাংলাদেশ কনসোর্টিয়াম". The Business Standard (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
6. Abdullah, Mamun (2 September 2021). "মেট্রোর অন্য লাইন গতিহীন". Desh Rupantor (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
7. "সেপ্টেম্বরে শুরু হচ্ছে পাতাল মেট্রো রেলের কাজ". Dhaka Tribune (in Bengali). 16 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
8. "এমআরটি-১ প্রকল্পের পরামর্শক প্রতিষ্ঠান নিপ্পন". Banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
9. "এমআরটি লাইন-১ চলবে জানুয়ারিতে ও লাইন-৫ জুলাইয়ে". Shomoyer Alo (in Bengali). 28 December 2022. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
10. "পাতাল রেলের ভিত্তিপ্রস্তর পেছাল". Rtvonline.com (in Bengali). 23 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
11. "পাতাল রেলের নির্মাণকাজের উদ্বোধন: বিমানবন্দর থেকে কমলাপুর সাড়ে ২৪ মিনিটে". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
12. Islam, Jahidul (11 April 2023). "ভূগর্ভস্থ মেট্রোর খরচ বাড়ছে ২,৩১৬ কোটি টাকা" [The cost of underground metro is increasing by Tk 2,316 crore]. The Business Standard (in Bengali). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
13. "এক নজরে এমআরটি লাইন-১". Ajker Patrika (in Bengali). 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
14. Hasan, Rashedul (19 January 2023). "কাজ শেষ হওয়ার পর আবার কাটতে হবে পূর্বাচলের এক্সপ্রেসওয়ে". Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
15. Hossain Dolon, Delwar (27 February 2023). "মেট্রোরেলে পূর্বাচল হাইওয়ের কতটা ক্ষতি হবে, কী বলছে কর্তৃপক্ষ". Dhakamail.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

Further reading

• "ঢাকার নরম মাটি ও ভূমিকম্পের ঝুঁকিসহ পাতাল রেলের যত চ্যালেঞ্জ" [Dhaka's soft soil and the challenges of the subway, including the risk of earthquakes]. BBC Bangla (in Bengali). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

External links

• MRT Line 1 on the official website of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (in Bengali)