BRTC to buy 320 buses to carry metro rail passengers
Korean Exim Bank will finance the purchase as the loan feasibility study has been completed recently
State-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is going to buy 320 air-conditioned buses to pick and drop metro rail passengers commuting the Agargaon-Uttara stretch, said officials.
The first patch of the country's maiden metro rail service, officially known as Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 (MRT-6), is scheduled to be inaugurated in December this year.
"We are ready to provide the passengers with the bus service," MdTazul Islam, chairman at the BRTC, told The Business Standard, adding that a deal to this regard would be signed with the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) soon.
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The buses will be carrying the passengers from and to the metro rail stations of the stretch so that commuters from different regions of the metropolis can avail the high-capacity public rail transport.
The BRTC chairman said, "The demand for BRTC service is increasing day by day. We are buying the buses to meet the demand as well as to provide comfortable service to the metro rail passengers. The buses will have all the modern facilities."
Korean Exim Bank will finance the bus purchase, and a Korean team has conducted the loan feasibility study recently.
"They [the team] are satisfied. Soon there will be a loan agreement," Tazul Islam said
The BRTC chairman could not mention how much the buses are going to cost. However, sources said the total cost of 320 buses plus 30% spare parts could be around Tk600 crore.
Tazul Islam said their previously purchased buses had 10% spare parts. "We had to struggle for the parts. In many cases, our vehicles could not join the fleet since we could not manage a single motor tool. Therefore, we are arranging more parts this time so that the buses can serve for 20 to 25 years"
Metro rail ready for Dec opening?
The authorities say the 11.73km metro rail stretch connecting Uttara North station to Agargaon will be opened for commuters in December this year. Till now, work progress of this portion is more than 90%.
Currently, entry and exit structures of rail stations at the patch are being constructed as the work progress stands at around 88%.
The Agargaon-Mirpur road cannot be totally reopened for traffic due to the construction. Commuters point the finger at the lengthy work for the frequent traffic jam and snarl vehicular movement on the route.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited claims a faceoff with the city corporation is one of the major reasons for the construction delay.
However, MAN Siddique, the managing director of the state-owned company, said they have settled the issues with the city corporation and station works are now going on in full swing.
"We are ready to leave the road for traffic. We do not have any construction left that requires a traffic detour. But road digging by the utility service providers deters us," he commented, adding the station work does not require any traffic diversion.
"We will write to the authorities concerned soon seeking road handover," added Siddique.
Meanwhile, out of a total 24 train sets, 10 sets have already arrived in Dhaka. The 11th and 12th train sets are expected to arrive by March. The 13th and 14th train sets will arrive in May.
The authorities are now undergoing technical, functional and performance tests on the stretch. The tests will continue till June.
Siddique assured of completing the trials on time so that the commercial operations can begin in December.
Metro rail fare yet to be fixed
The authorities said they are still working to prepare the metro rail fare chart.
Neelima Akhter, convener of the fare-fixing committee and also the executive director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, said, "We want to finalise the fares as soon as possible. But we need to complete the ongoing cost assessment study first."
"Once we get the report, we will propose a fare to the authorities. Then the government will finalise it," she described the process.
MAN Siddique said they have already developed the ticketing software. Once the fares are finalised, the fare chart will be inserted to the system.
