Metro stations over-crowded, passengers in long queues amid low train frequency

Daily commuters on Dhaka's MRT Line-6 (Uttara-Motijheel) are facing extended waits as the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is currently operating trains at 10-minute intervals, falling short of the commitment to run a metro train every three-and-a-half minutes during peak hours. 

Metro stations in Dhaka were overrun on Sunday, with throngs of commuters snaking through lengthy queues at Uttara, Pallabi, Secretariat, and Motijheel stations. The crush made ticket purchases a 30–40-minute ordeal, and boarding trains took a staggering hour.

At 8am on Sunday, hundreds of passengers gathered in front of the single-journey ticket purchase counters at Uttara North station. Delays ensued as passengers took additional time to obtain their tickets due to one of the three automatic machines being out of service.

A dozen passengers told The Business Standard that they love Dhaka Metro's comfort, speed, and safety. However, inadequate trains, malfunctioning ticket machines, and absent staff at ticket booths have turned the quick trip into a long wait.

At the Pallabi station, Khadija Akhtar Nipa, a senior employee at a private bank, told TBS, "I commuted to work via the metro train for a few days when the service initially started up to Motijheel. However, if the train journey entails such suffering, it is more convenient to opt for car travel."

DMTCL, in charge of the operation and maintenance of Metro, blamed the limited number of trains for delayed commutes on Metro Line-6, attributing it to ongoing trials for increased train operations.

When asked, Nasir Uddin Ahmed, director (Operations and Maintenance) at DMTCL, said, "While trains were originally planned to operate at intervals of three and a half minutes, there is currently no decision to enhance the frequency of the train."

It is challenging to provide even a specific timeline for the increase in the number of trains, he said. 

In reference to the ticket vending machine issue, he mentioned that each station has a total of six machines, distributed evenly with three on each side. 

Acknowledging that a few of these machines may encounter problems, he added that there is a limitation in addressing mechanical faults.

There is still a lot of work to be done in the metro stations. Apart from that, many of the manpower appointed to manage trains and stations could not join the work as their training was not completed, Nasir Uddin said.

The metro rail service for the Uttara-Agargaon section commenced in December 2022 as part of the MRT Line-6 project, which received approval from Ecnec in 2012. The Agargaon-Motijheel section became operational in November last year. Initially, only morning trains were operational in this section; however, as of Saturday, metro trains are now running on the Uttara-Motijheel route throughout the day and night.

Experts view Metro Rail's trial run for over a year as a manifestation of significant inefficiency. They argue that operating trains below capacity would contribute to substantial losses for the company. 

Professor Shamsul Hoque, the director of Buet's Accident Research Institute (ARI), expressed strong reservations about running the metro rail on an experimental or limited basis for over a year. 

Addressing management inefficiencies, he emphasized that without guaranteed revenue matching the substantial expenditure on metro rail operation and maintenance, losses are bound to rise. 

Consequently, he believes this situation will diminish passengers' reliance on the metro rail system.