Will Dhaka Metro Rail operate on Eid-ul-Fitr day?

The country is going on a long holiday on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr and Pahela Baishakh. During this Eid holiday, the capital Dhaka will be very empty as always, but many will stay in Dhaka due to various reasons during the Eid vacation and will commute to different places. It is a big question for them will Dhaka Metro Rail run on Eid-ul-Fitr?

What did Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL say?

Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan, deputy general manager (administration) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), said the metro rail service will not be available on Eid day. However, he also confirmed that the metro rail will run on other days, except Eid day, during the Eid holidays.  

According to the new schedule, metro rail communication will be closed only on Eid day and Friday as a weekly holiday. The metro rail will run normally for the rest of the holidays.

If the holy month of Ramadan lasts for 29 days, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Wednesday. However, if Ramadan lasts for 30 days, Eid will be held on Thursday (April 11). This year it is more likely to be 30 fasts. Therefore, the government has declared a holiday for the government and non-government offices as possible Eid-ul-Fitr on Thursday.

According to the DMTCL, the agency responsible for operating the train service, the company’s own employees are operating the metro rail. They have fewer employees than usual. As a result, if the metro rail is kept open on the Eid day, almost everyone will have to perform duty excluding Eid vacation.

The metro rail has possibility few numbers of passengers before the afternoon on the day of Eid. According to the current schedule, more than 100 trains will not be available until the afternoon. It will also increase the burden of expenses. If the next day of Eid is Friday, people will not go out much until Jumma prayer. As a result, the road will remain empty. Passengers will not be available in the metro rail. So, the authorities do not want to skip the weekend for some passengers.

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTCL) Limited, told media that Eid depends on moon sighting. If Eid-ul- Fitr will be held on Friday, they will maintain the weekly holiday on Friday. As a result, the metro rail is likely to be closed for two consecutive days.

MAN Siddique in a press conference organized at DMTCL’s meeting room in the capital on Sunday (April 7) afternoon said a large number of people are leaving Dhaka. Passengers will not be available for two or three days before Eid. Despite law passengers, the normal movement of the metro rail has to continue. Therefore, the metro rail will have to be closed on Eid day.

According to DMTCL sources, an average of 2,46,000 passengers traveled daily in the first half of Ramadan. Before Ramadan, the number of passengers was 2,95,000. After extending one hour from 16 Ramadan for the metro rail service, the number of passengers has increased further. An average of 2, 90,000 passengers have traveled in the last several days.

The DMTCL MD also announced that the Motijheel-Kamalapur route will be operational by June 2025.

MAN Siddique said MRT pass holders can travel on the trains from Uttara route to Motijheel metro station after 9:00pm every day. As the ticket counters will be closed before the time, Single-ticket passengers cannot travel on these trains, he added.

Regarding the opening of MRT-6, he said the viaduct installation of the Motijheel-Kamalapur route started on March 23 and the authority has already managed to install three viaducts. “We will be able to launch operation on the route by June 2025.”

Meanwhile, there is a long holiday in Ramadan. If you take only one or two days off during Eid holidays, you will get a 10-day holiday. According to the government calendar, April 5 and 6 are weekly holidays on Friday and Saturday. April 7 is a public holiday for Shab-e-Qadr.

As a result, if you take leave on April 8 and 9, you can take a 10-day holiday till April 14. If the Ramdan is 30, April 10, 11 and 12 are the public holidays of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr. Again, April 13 is a weekly holiday and April 14 is Pahela Baishakh. Overall, service holders can enjoy 10-day long holidays.

What do we know about Dhaka Metro Rail?

Dhaka Metro Rail is a rapid transit system in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. To reduce the growing traffic problem and traffic congestion in the highly populated Dhaka city, the initial activities of the Dhaka Metro Rail construction began in Dhaka in 2005 by making the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) with the help of the World Bank.

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the regulatory body of the metro rail, started the final work of setting up the metro rail in Dhaka under the strategic transport plan in 2013. According to the revised plan in 2016, the number of metro rail lines in Dhaka was increased from three to five. In the first phase, 21.26 km long MRT Line-6 from Uttara to Motijheel was selected for construction. The construction of MRT Line-6 started through the inauguration ceremony on June 26, 2016.

On December 28, 2022, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the Dhaka Metro rail partially with the inauguration of the Uttara North to Agargaon section of MRT Line 6, and it was opened for public traffic the following day. On November 5, 2023, passenger movement started on the Agargaon to Motijheel section of MRT Line-6.

JICA and DMTCL have planned to construct six metro lines– a total length of 128 kilometers– by 2030. The network will have 51 flyover stations and 53 underground stations. Nearly 47 lakh passengers are expected to commute daily using the six lines together.

What is the benefit of metro rail?

After the operation of the Dhaka metro rail started, the metro rail — with 16 stations – has been able to carry 60,000 people an hour. The service has reduced around 38 minutes of travel time between Uttara and Motijheel. It took more than two hours to travel the distance.

Metro Rail is a relief for female commuters as a coach reserved for female commuters came as a blessing. The reserved coach offers security for women travelling between Uttara to Motijhee and encourages more female passengers to use this service