The MRT Line 6 () is a rapid transit line of the
Dhaka Metro Rail
The Dhaka Metro Rail () is a rapid transit, mass rapid transit system serving Dhaka (currently from Uttara North to Motijheel), the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is operated by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL). Toget ...
. Despite its number, it is Bangladesh's first rapid transit line and has been in service since 2022. The line is entirely elevated and currently has 16 stations operational in service between
Uttara North and
Motijheel
Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...
.
[
The line was built as a proposal of a mass rapid transit system in Dhaka by the Review Committee of the Strategic Transport Plan and the Urban Traffic Formulation Study.
Its construction started in 2016 but was delayed several times as a result of disagreements about the route, the ]July 2016 Dhaka attack
On the night of 1 July 2016, at 21:20 Bangladesh Standard Time ( UTC+06:00), five terrorists took hostages and opened fire on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan Thana jurisdiction in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The terrorists entered the bakery with c ...
, and the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The first phase of the line was gradually opened in 2022 from Uttara North to Agargaon. In 2023, the second phase of the line was inaugurated from Agargaon to Motijheel.
An extension to Kamalapur is expected in 2026. There is a plan to further extend the line north towards Tongi
Tongi () is a major township in Gazipur, Bangladesh, with a population of 350,000. It hosts the Biswa Ijtema and features a BSCIC industrial area, which produces BDT 1500 crore of industrial products annually, and marks the northern border of D ...
. It is the most expensive mass rapid transit line in terms of per kilometer construction cost in Asia.
History
Origins and development
In 2005, the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
published a study report, recommending that the government of Bangladesh
The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...
build a mass transit system in Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. In the same year, American consultancy firm Louis Berger Group
Louis Berger (formerly known as Berger Group Holdings) is a full-service engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, program and construction management and economic development firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 1953 in H ...
prepared a strategic transport plan (STP) for Dhaka.[ Although the World Bank helped to develop this plan, the draft plan didn't include a mass rapid transit system. It was Bangladeshi civil engineer and ]national professor
National Professor () is a prestigious teaching award given by the government of Bangladesh for outstanding contribution in the field of education. It is awarded by the President of Bangladesh according to ''Bangladesh National Professor Resolutio ...
Jamilur Reza Choudhury
Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury (15 November 1942 – 28 April 2020) was a Bangladeshi civil engineer, professor, researcher, and education advocate. He was an Adviser (Minister) to Caretaker Government of Bangladesh (April–June 1996). He was the ...
, chairman of the Review Committee of the STP, and his team who suggested a mass rapid transit system be included in the plan.[ The published STP recommended the construction of three mass rapid transit lines, of which the alignment of MRT Line 6 was proposed from Pallabi via Begum Rokeya Avenue to Sayedabad Bus Terminal via Tejgaon and Sonargaon hotel areas. Three years after the preparation of the study report by the World Bank, the ]Japan International Cooperation Agency
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
(JICA) joined the metro rail project. In the Urban Traffic Formulation Study, JICA considered MRT Line 6 the most profitable and important of the proposed lines. A feasibility study was conducted for the construction of this line in the financial year 2010–2011.[ At the time, the agency's urban transport expert team proposed to construct it as a monorail instead of fully underground.
A draft route was mapped in 2011. According to this map, the line was supposed to be from Uttara to Sayedabad.][ The proposed station at Bijoy Sarani was to be built in front of the ]Bangabandhu Military Museum
Bangladesh Military Museum is a military museum in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Administered by the Bangladesh Army, the museum is located right beside the Novo Theatre at Bijoy Sarani of the capital Dhaka. The museum has a collection of Bangladesh's mi ...
, but due to the objection of the Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...
in 2011,[ it was planned to be built near the ]Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban
The Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban () is the house of the Parliament of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar besides St. Joseph Higher Secondary School in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. Designed while the country was still part of Pakistan by a ...
.[ Also, the height of the dome of the station had to be reduced to keep it out of reach of the airport funnel for the nearby ]Tejgaon Airport
BAF Base Bashar — also known as Tejgaon Airport — is a Bangladesh Air Force military base in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army also uses this military base. It is also the National Parade Square of Bangladesh. It served as the country's sole ...
.[ As per the proposed route map, the line was supposed to pass in front of Begum Rokeya Hall, one of residential buildings of the ]University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country.
The University of Dhaka w ...
. However, due to the objection of the authorities, the government took the initiative to revise the alignment. The draft route included the Mayor Mohammed Hanif Flyover. However, at the request of the Dhaka Traffic Coordination Board (now Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority or DTCA), its route was diverted from the flyover.[ So it was planned to change the route and take it to Sayedabad via ]Motijheel
Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...
.[ The draft route was supposed to pass the line through Mirpur Cantonment. However the Bangladesh Army objected as it wanted to make the area a residential area, so the line was moved eastward. Even though the line was planned to pass by Tejgaon Airport, later Prime Minister ]Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
ordered to change the decision considering national security.
Jamilur Reza Choudhury requested the prime minister to change the destination of the line from Sayedabad to Motijheel. He also suggested taking the route through Banglamotor. Later, the route map was modified slightly to finalize the current route map. JICA wanted to build three metro stations at Uttara
Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to:
Places
*Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh
*Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh
*Uttara East Thana
*Uttara West Thana ...
above ground, and the remaining stations underground, but E. Sreedharan, an Indian mass transit expert, recommended building an entirely elevated line, as he believed an underground metro line would be to expensive to build and operate. This resulted in the current route, which is entirely on an elevated track.[ The MRT Line 6 project was officially launched on 1 July 2012. On 18 December 2012, the project was approved by the ]Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) (Bangladesh) is an executive committee under the Cabinet Division of the Government of Bangladesh, which verifies, imports, approves and advances nationally important development p ...
(ECNEC) and in the next year, JICA hired a consultant and financed the construction of MRT Line 6 and its operator Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, commonly known as DMTCL, is a government-owned company responsible for operating Dhaka Metro Rail, a mass rapid transit system in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and adjoining areas. The company was established ...
(DMTCL) was established. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a centre-state joint venture that operates the Delhi Metro and Noida Metro. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is also involved in the planning and implementation of metro rail, monorail, and high-speed r ...
was also the line's consultant. In 2014, the project officials completed the design of metro station of the line. Its conceptual design was created two years after its approval by ECNEC. The finalised version of STP, revised in 2016, proposed the construction of five mass rapid transit lines in Dhaka including this line.
Before the line's construction, there were three obstacles in the northern Uttara-Mirpur section. The first obstacle was the narrowness of the local pathway from Uttara to Mirpur, which made it impossible to carry out construction work there. The second obstacle was a lake between Uttara and Mirpur. The third was the Sri Sri Gaur Nitai temple located in the route which needed to be moved. Road Transport and Highways Division
Road Transport and Highways Division () is a Bangladeshi government division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges responsible for roads and highways. The division is headed by Md. Ehsanul Haque.
History
Road Transport and Highways Di ...
planned to convert the pathway into a street to remove the first obstacle. In the case of the second, it was decided to fill the marked area of the lake and remove the soil after the piling work was completed there. After the government held talks with the temple authority, they announced the transfer of the temple, thereby solving all the issues. After determining the route of the line by the side of Shaheed Minar, it was planned to change the route in the face of objection and take it in front of Teacher-Student Centre, University of Dhaka
Teacher-Student Centre (), also known as TSC, is a building on the University of Dhaka, Dhaka University campus in Shahbagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The centre was established in 1961 by the Dhaka University by the Division of Public Affairs.
Hist ...
. In protest of this, the students of Dhaka University conducted various activities from 7 January 2016. They cited the possibility of damage to structures in the university premises, increased traffic jams and disruption to campus activities as reasons for their opposition. On 16 January 2016, the Bangladesh Students Union supported the protesting students at Dhaka University and proposed to take the route through Shahbag
Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...
in front of Matsya Bhaban instead of taking it inside Dhaka University as it would be illegal to take the route of MRT Line 6 through Dhaka University area. On the other hand, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader
Obaidul Quader (born 1 February 1952) is a Bangladeshi politician. He has served as the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Awami League since October 2016. Quader was previously the Minister of Road Transport and Bridges from 2011–2024 and ...
ruled out the possibility of moving the metro route from Dhaka University as the construction work would start in two months. He informed that there will be no problem in the activities of the university as sound insulation technology will be used on the metro rail line. Meetings were held with students to resolve the dispute. After discussing the benefits of a metro station in the Dhaka University area, they withdrew their opposition. The authority of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University
Bangladesh Medical University (BMU; formerly known as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, commonly known as PG Hospital) is a graduate medical university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 1965 as Institute of Postgraduate Medic ...
(BSMMU) objected to the decision of the DTCA to take the proposed route through BSMMU. They were later convinced by DTCA that a station near BSMMU could benefit the patients.[ On 27 March 2016, DMTCL signed an agreement with Tokyu Construction Ltd for the development of the line's depot.
]
Initial phases
Construction
JICA divided the entire construction project into 6 packages. The first two packages included construction of the line's depot. The construction project was inaugurated on 26 June 2016. The July 2016 Dhaka attack
On the night of 1 July 2016, at 21:20 Bangladesh Standard Time ( UTC+06:00), five terrorists took hostages and opened fire on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan Thana jurisdiction in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The terrorists entered the bakery with c ...
took place during the call for tenders for the construction of the line, and led to some companies withdrawing from the tender process due to security concerns. Seven Japanese officials associated with the project died in the attack.[ About 4 days after the attack, Gowher Rizvi, foreign affairs adviser of the country, said that the attack would not have any negative impact on construction. He wanted to wait a maximum of three months for foreign officials who left after the attack. Six months later,] with the assurance of the government, the contractors started the construction work. A detailed design of the line was prepared in August 2016.[ In September 2016, works related to the construction of the line's depot at Diabari were started.][ On 2 August 2017, the first phase of construction of the MRT Line 6 was officially started.
DMTCL hired seven contracting firms to work in joint ventures to execute the construction works. One of those seven contracting firms was Abdul Monem Limited, which was the sole Bangladeshi contractor for the construction project.] Also the contractor for a significant part of the construction work was Italian-Thai Development
Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited (ITD) is a construction company based in Bangkok, Thailand. Founded in 1958, it is one of the largest construction firms in the country, and is one of the two main contractors commonly hired for lar ...
. As of October 2017, the construction was 20.19% complete with 1% progress. After two months, it was known that 13.16% of the initial budget was spent on the construction of the project. By 2018, utility transfer was completed for the project from Uttara
Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to:
Places
*Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh
*Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh
*Uttara East Thana
*Uttara West Thana ...
to Agargaon
Agargaon is an administrative neighbourhood in the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka.
Education
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys' High School and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls' High School are public secondary schools, established in 1969 and ...
in the route area. In April 2018, the installation of spans between the pillars of the line began. On 11 July 2018, the joint venture of Marubeni
(, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a '' sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as wel ...
and Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Limited, abbreviated as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with interests in industrial technology, heavy industry, engineering, construction, manufacturing, power, information technology, defence and financial se ...
started electrical and mechanical work on the project. Work of the second phase started from August of the same year. In February 2019, work began on the viaduct and stations on the Agargaon to Kawran Bazar
Kawran Bazar (), misspelled as Karwan Bazar, is a central business district and is one of the biggest commodity marketplaces in Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. Located in Tejgaon Thana, it is a designated commercial area of the Dhaka North C ...
section of the under-construction line. Till then the overall average progress of the project was 21.50% and the progress of the first phase was 35%. As of 15 December 2019, of viaducts of a total length of of the line had been laid. According to the schedule, its rail track was supposed to be laid in the first month of 2020.
In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
escalated, foreigners involved in the project stopped working and left the country.[ The lockdown imposed by the government during the pandemic halted construction for several months. However, when the government allowed work in accordance with the rules to prevent infection, construction work was resumed.][ As of October 2020, the construction of Phase 2 was lagging behind Phase 1. A news article published by '']Prothom Alo
''Prothom Alo'' () is a Bengali language, Bengali-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka. It is one of the largest circulated newspaper in Bangladesh. According to the National Media Survey of 2018, conducted by Kantar MRB ...
'' attributed this to a later start of construction than the first phase and COVID-19.[ In 2021, JICA urged the government to take necessary measures to prevent the spread of infection among the officials and employees involved in the project. The government set up two makeshift hospitals, isolation centers and makeshift dormitories to prevent transmission.] During the pandemic, 668 people involved in construction contracted COVID-19.
Erecting of all spans of Phase 1 was completed on 28 February 2021. As of February 2021, the construction progress of the Kawran Bazar to Motijheel section of the second phase was 56%. Installation of all viaducts on the line was completed on 27 January 2022. The construction of its depot was completed in June 2022. Two months after that, the construction progress of MRT Line 6 was 67%. M.A.N. Siddique, managing director of DMTCL, was sure that the project would be successful despite the reserve crisis in 2022. As of November 2022, the construction progress was 84.22%, while the progress of the first phase from Uttara to Agargaon was at 95%.[ As of 8 February 2023, after 41 days of the opening of the first phase, at least 92% of the second phase of the line was complete. ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, the secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, said on 9 August 2023 that the second phase would be completed by 15 October. However, the construction of all the stations was planned to be completed by December.] But later it was announced that the construction of all the stations would be completed one month late. On 27 November 2023, it was decided to connect , and Bangladesh Secretariat metro stations with the pedestrian bridge, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Bangladesh Secretariat
The Bangladesh Secretariat () is the administrative headquarters of the Government of Bangladesh, and houses the majority of ministries and government agencies and bodies, located in Segunbagicha, Dhaka. The secretariat can refer to the complex ...
respectively by constructing skywalks. As of October 2024 DMTCL's new Managing Director Mohammad Abdur Rouf was considering a meeting with Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid to implement the skywalk between the Secretariat and the metro station.
Trial runs and opening
Initially, the deadline for construction of the line was in 2024. But Sheikh Hasina had instructed to complete the first phase by 2019 and the second phase by 2020. However, as progress was 16% below the target as of 2019, a proposal was made to extend the construction period by another three months. Later, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges
The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges () is a Government of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi government Ministry (collective executive), ministry which is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to ...
planned to commission the entire line in 2021 to mark the country's 50 years of independence.[ Then phase 1 and 2 were scheduled to be completed by 2025 by DMTCL. On 29 August 2021, the trial run of the trains on the line under construction began. It traveled from Diabari Depot to Mirpur 11 that day. The line's train made its longest trial run on 12 December 2021. It traveled from Uttara to Agargaon. The train ran for . It ran at for and ran at for the rest. Since the work was not completed, the opening date of the first phase was changed to 16 December of the next year. From 1 September 2022, the authority started the integrated trial run of the line from Uttara to Agargaon. A total of 4 trial runs were operated on the Uttara–Agargaon section.][ All the work on Phase 1 was supposed to be completed by 15 December and Sheikh Hasina wanted to inaugurate the Uttara–Agargaon section after the ]Victory Day
Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...
. DMTCL later proposed to open the first phase portion of the line in the last week of December 2022. Based on the proposal, the inauguration date was fixed on 28 December. On 28 December 2022, the section between Uttara and Agargaon was inaugurated by Sheikh Hasina. The following day, public operations started with trains running non-stop between the two terminals. More stations were gradually introduced into service between January and March. Since 31 March 2023, all nine stations from Uttara to Agargaon on the line are in use.
On 13 April 2023, Obaidul Quader announced the opening of Phase 2 in November of the same year. On 18 May 2023, DMTCL announced a trial run from Agargaon to Motijheel in July of the same year. DMTCL was aiming to launch the second phase by December 2023.[ As the government decided to launch the second phase by November, the project officials had planned to reduce the number of trial runs on the Agargaon–Motijheel section.] On 18 June 2023, Obaidul Quader informed that Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate Phase 2 in October 2023. First trial run from Agargaon to Motijheel started on 7 July 2023. On 20 August 2023, it was announced that the second phase will be opened after two months. Later the inauguration date was postponed by three days. Five days after the date change was announced, the inauguration date was changed again to October 29. It was decided to shut down metro services for two days for system integration from 14 October to 15 to make the entire line operational. The inauguration date of Phase 2 was again pushed back to 4 November, showing that the prime minister could not give the time on 29 October 2023. Metro stations at Farmgate
Farmgate is an area in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is one of the busiest and most crowded areas of Dhaka city. From the early 1990s, the area has seen a massive construction boom. Consequently, the area has gained commercial importance ...
, Bangladesh Secretariat
The Bangladesh Secretariat () is the administrative headquarters of the Government of Bangladesh, and houses the majority of ministries and government agencies and bodies, located in Segunbagicha, Dhaka. The secretariat can refer to the complex ...
and Motijheel
Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...
were opened the day after the second phase was inaugurated in 4 November. All stations went operational by 31 December 2023.
Kamalapur extension
STP had plans to extend the MRT Line 6 from Motijheel to Kamalapur railway station
Kamalapur Railway Station, officially Dhaka Railway Station, is the central railway station in Kamalapur, Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. It is the largest station and the busiest infrastructure for transportation in the country that acts as a g ...
.[ The extension project was decided to be started by the government in 2019. However, ]Kajima
is one of the oldest and largest construction companies in Japan. Founded in 1840, the company has its headquarters in Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo. The company is known for its DIB-200 proposal. The company stock is traded on four leading Japa ...
, the Japanese construction firm responsible for the construction of a multimodal transport hub in Kamalapur, stated that it would withdraw from this project if the government planned to extend the metro line. Bangladesh Railway
Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...
opposed the extension project of the line with Kajima. As a result, DMTCL proposed three options to Kajima for extending the line. The first proposal is to build a station on Line 6 above the proposed Kamalapur metro station on Line 1 which is underground. The second option was to build the metro station outside the railway station area. According to the third proposal, they needed to apply for land from the ministry of Railways for constructing the station. The second proposal was finalized after a meeting between Bangladesh Railway and DMTCL on 24 November 2020.
When the contractors involved in the construction project were asked to join the extension project, companies other than Italian-Thai Development showed no interest that delayed the extension. Extending the line up to Kamalapur would increase the length of the line to about . The extension pushes the completion date for the line to December 2025. The extension work started west of the station plaza in January 2023 by Italian-Thai Development. Piling began in late February. As of May 2023, 38 out of 176 have been completed.[ As of 1 June 2023, at least 2.30% of the third phase was complete.] Seven months after the commencement of work on the Kamalapur expansion project, its progress stood at 10%. In November 2023, the progress of Kamalapur extension stood at 17.30%.[ As on 31 December 2023, the progress was said to be 25%.
But in the meantime, the expansion work was stopped for about a month due to complications in the transfer of utility of ]Titas Gas
The Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC ( ''Titas Gas'') is the natural gas distributor in Bangladesh, with an 80% market share. As of 2020, they employed 2,100 staff and served 2.8 million domestic customers, 12,000 commercial customers ...
. Later the deadline for the extension was finalised to June 2025. 47 structures in South Kamalapur were demolished for the Kamalapur extension project. On 21 March 2024, work on laying the viaduct began as part of the expansion project. As of May 2024, 24 out of 30 columns have been constructed and 37% of the construction work is complete. The completion of the first floor of the Kamalapur metro station was scheduled to begin next month. According to the information provided by DMTCL officials, the time to complete the construction of Kamalapur extension had been proposed to be extended by another 6 months. Construction progress rose another 2% in September of the same year. As of February 2025, the progress of the extension work had reached 50%. However, due to the delays to appoint a contractor for the technical work, the completion date remained uncertain.
Future plans
According to the preliminary plan, the route of MRT Line 1 was to be extended to Gazipur
Gazipur () is a city in central Bangladesh. Located in Gazipur District in Dhaka Division, it is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh, with 75% of all garment industries situated there. ...
, but it was omitted as Dhaka BRT
The Dhaka BRT () or Dhaka Line () is a bus rapid transit system under construction in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The original plan for the network included two lines: BRT Line-3 and BRT Line-7. Currently, only the northern section of BRT Line-3 is un ...
was under construction on the same route. Alternatively, DMTCL planned to take MRT Line 6 north to Gazipur. In 2022, M.A.N. Siddique, showed the interest to extend the line to Tongi
Tongi () is a major township in Gazipur, Bangladesh, with a population of 350,000. It hosts the Biswa Ijtema and features a BSCIC industrial area, which produces BDT 1500 crore of industrial products annually, and marks the northern border of D ...
.[ ABM Amin Ullah Nuri confirmed in April 2023 that the construction of the extension from Uttara North to Tongi would start after the completion of the extension from Motijheel to Kamalapur.] As of 1 May 2023, DMTCL planned to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the Tongi extension. It was decided to start the feasibility study approximately two weeks after the announcement of the pre-feasibility study. According to the completed pre-feasibility study, the Tongi extension initially planned to increase the length of the line by . As of January 2024, another survey for Tongi extension was ongoing.[ In May 2024, DMTCL announced a extension to from Diabari to Tongi including five additional stations. The last station would planned to be built near Tongi Junction railway station. According to DMTCL authorities in June 2024, the ongoing survey is scheduled to be completed by November.
The Strategic Transport Plan finalised in 2015 included the extension of the line to Baipayl in ]Savar Upazila
Savar () is an upazila of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh and is located at a distance of about 24 kilometers (15 mi) to the northwest of Dhaka city. Savar is mostly famous for the National Martyrs' Memori ...
. But at the same time the Northern Route of MRT Line 5 is supposed to be extended to the same place, so next year the STP was revised and its extension destination was changed to Ashulia instead of Baipayl. In the first week of May in 2023, M.A.N. Siddique announced a plan to build another part of the line in the north-west through Ashulia and Baipayl to Nabinagar. But the decision to extend the line to Savar in 2024 was scrapped for the under-construction Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway. On 1 October 2024, the Savar Citizens' Committee staged a human chain appealing to the government to positively reconsider the extension of the line to Nabinagar.
Timeline
The following dates represent the dates the section opened to the public, not the private inauguration.
Financing
In terms of construction cost with Kamalapur extension, it is the most expensive mass rapid transit line in Asia before the North–South MRT line
The North–South Line (NSL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore, operated by SMRT Corporation. Coloured red on the Singapore rail map, the line is long and serves 27 stations, 11 of ...
of Singapore. was used for the construction of the first and second phase. JICA provided 75.45% of it as a loan. The government agreed to accept the loan for interest rates of 0.70% for construction, 0.01% for consultancy service, and 0.2% for Front End Fee. As per the terms of the agreement, the loan will not be repaid for the first ten years of the line's operation. The entire amount of the loan is stipulated to be repaid within thirty years of commencement.[
For the extension of the line up to Kamalapur and line-related projects, the project budget has increased by to .][ In 2022, JICA provided more for the extension project.] In the next year, the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
agreed to give loan of for Integrated Corridors Management project for stations in Mirpur and Tejgaon Thana
Tejgaon () is a thana of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is in the centre of Dhaka, the capital. In 2006, the boundaries of the thana were redrawn when Tejgaon Industrial Area Thana was created out of the former larger a ...
. JICA announced to provide total of loan for the extension project to Kamalapur.[
According to the managing director of DMTCL, the company needs to earn daily from its ticket sales to meet the cost of MRT Line 6.][ It will take up from 2024 to 2069 to repay the loan taken for the construction of MRT Line 6 from ticket sales if the maximum passenger capacity is carried. On the opening day, it earned .][ It earned in 10 days of activity.] In the first month, the company earned from the line.[ In the first three months of the operation, DMTCL earned a total of from MRT Line 6, though its total expenditure was .][ On June 19, 2023, DMTCL paid to the government towards repayment of debt. According to the information provided in July 2023, the company earned daily from this line.][ According to the information given in January 2024, the daily income from the line is .] In September of the same year, the income fell to an average of per day. As of 2023–2024, DMTCL earned but faced loss of . According to 2025 data, MRT Line 6 requires per month for electricity.
Stations
There may be changes to the planned stations, including new stations getting added, existing planned stations getting eliminated or assigned different names.
Infrastructure
Rolling stock
In 2017, DMTCL ordered 24 six-car commuter trains to Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...
for the initial part of the line with a price tag of . The fleet was built and tested in Japan.[ Production of rail coaches started on 16 April 2019.][ In February 2020, A sample train arrived in Dhaka. According to the schedule, the trains produced for passenger transport were supposed to arrive in the country in 15 June of the same year. However, the first train arrived in April 2021] with all trains delivered by March 2023. The trains of the MRT Line 6 are called "green train" officially. Trains of this line is currently served by 12 six-car trains, all of which are Kawasaki commuter car sets. Each train car is 19.8m long, 2.95m wide, and 4.1m high, forming 120m long trains. The trains are powered by 1500 V DC
This is a list of the power supply systems that are, or have been, used for railway electrification.
Note that the voltages are nominal and vary depending on load and distance from the substation.
, many trams and trains use on-board solid-state ...
via overhead line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
rail system,[ are air-conditioned with two air conditioning units in each coach and capable of traveling at up to 100 km/h with ability to increase and decrease 3.5 km/h speed per second. These trains have bulletproof glass windows.
]
Depot
MRT Line 6 depot is located at Diabari in Uttara. The depot area also has 52 structures including workshops, washing sheds and storage. The depot can accommodate 18 trains, which have to go north from Uttara North metro station through a 300 metres long workshop to reach the depot. The depot has an operation control center from where trains can be controlled by communicating with the train driver using radio antennas mounted on the line under the direction of the controller. An exhibition and information center was planned to be set up at the depot so that people could experience the metro services. It was opened on 6 September 2022.
Station
Stations of the line have a ground level and an additional two levels. Access to the first or concourse level is via stairs or elevators from the ground. It houses the station staff's office, waiting room and ticket counter. There is a system of one time ticketing from the first level. From the first level through the automatic fare collection zone, one has to take an escalator or elevator to reach the second level where the train platforms are located.
Features
To meet the cost of the line, DMTCL has planned to build a transit-oriented development (TOD) hub centered around the Uttara Center metro station
Uttara Center ( ''romanised: Uttora sentar'') is an elevated metro station of the Dhaka Metro's MRT Line 6, located in Uttara, neighbourhood of Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the ...
. For this purpose, the authority has decided to purchase 29 acres of Uttara Model Town (3rd Phase) from Capital Development Authority at a cost of . In the future, TOD hubs will be built around all the stations belonging to the line. Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is a state-owned transport corporation of Bangladesh. It was established under the Government Ordinance No.7 of 1961 dated 4 February 1961. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it assumed i ...
(BRTC) provides bus services to Uttara North and Agargaon metro station for the convenience of passengers to reach the station. Buses ply from Uttara North to House Building and Agargaon to Motijheel
Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...
. Bus transport service from Tongi to Uttara North metro station was launched from 9 May 2024. Besides, BRTC has launched two bus services named 24 and 25 for four metro stations which stop at Agargaon, Mirpur 10, Khamarbari and Bijoy Sarani respectively. Smart delivery lockers are being installed at all stations as per the agreement of Aspire to Innovate with DMTCL. ATM booths and retail shops are planned at each station.
Operation
Services
After opening, the service was initially limited to four hours a day from 8am to 12 noon, and no trains ran on Tuesday.[ From 25 January, the service time was set to 8:30am–12:30pm. From 5 April 2023, the line operated for every day from 8am to 2pm until the activation of new schedule. In February 2023, DMTCL had planned to implement the new schedule from July due to the mismatch of the line's schedule with the demands of working people.
On 18 May 2023, DMTCL announced a new schedule that had been activated from 31 May: with this schedule, the line is to operate every day except Friday, with a peak hour service at 10 minute intervals from 8 am to 11 am and from 3 pm to 6 pm, and an off-peak service at 15 minute intervals from 11 am to 3 pm and from 6 pm to 8 pm. It was made effective from the date DMTCL announced.][
In 4 June, the company announced that the off-peak hour headway would be reduced by 3 minutes from the following day. The authority announced on 20 June 2023 that they changed peak hour to 8 am to 11 am and 4.01 pm to 8 pm with 10 minutes headway and off-peak to 11.01 am to 4 pm with 15 minutes headway that would be activated after two days. From 8 July 2023, it was decided to extend the service by another thirty minutes from 8 am to 8.30 pm with the last thirty minutes reserved only for passengers using Rapid Pass and MRT Pass.
As per the plan, operational time will be changed from 7 am to 11.30 pm after the second phase. At first, even if the entire line is opened, except for certain trains, the rest will go up to Agargaon. After the inauguration of the second phase, it was decided to keep the train running at the newly launched Farmgate, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel Metro Station from 7:30 am to 11:30 pm for a total of 4 hours.][ However, from 6 November 2023, the authorities have conditionally relaxed this rule in the case of trains going from Motijheel to Uttara after 11.30 am. From 8 November 2023, two special trains have been launched to run from Uttara to Motijheel at 7.10 am and 7.20 am considering the students and employees.
On 12 November 2023, the authority allocated four trains from Motijheel to Uttara from 11.40 am to 12.12 pm for MRT and Rapid Pass users. From 20 January, 2024, all stations have been opened from 7:00 am to 8:40 pm, maintaining a headway of 10 minutes during peak hours and 12 minutes during off-peak hours.][ Off-peak hours period was fixed from 11.30 am to 4.00 pm. In 2024, the authorities were thinking of reducing the headway due to the increasing number of passengers. On 17 February 2024, the headway during peak hours was reduced by two minutes. On 27 March 2024, the operational time was extended by one hour. Headway was increased to 15 minutes from 30 May 2024. On 19 June 2024, the metro authority made the headway 10 minutes during peak hours and 8 minutes during off-peak hours. Also, peak hours from 7.31 am to 11.36 am and 2.25 pm to 8.32 pm are implemented from this day. According to the new decision, from 20 September 2024, the metro service starts from 3 pm to operational time on Fridays too.] The headway for Fridays was fixed to 12 minutes. In February 2025, the authorities announced that they were considering providing metro services on Friday mornings starting in May of the same year.
The minimum ticket price of metro rail for Line 6 is fixed at and the fare is fixed at per km. 12 trains have been allotted for this line, of which 2 trains are kept as backup trains. Sub-stations with 132 kV circuits have been set up at Motijheel, Uttara and Shewrapara for uninterrupted power supply to the line. Currently five coaches are in use on this line.[ Dhaka Metro Rail has reserved an entire compartment only for women on each train. Additionally, for security purposes, two police officers are present in each coach of the train.
]
Ridership
On the opening day, it was used by 3857 passengers. There were 90 thousand passengers in 10 days of activity.[ In January, 3,35,000 passengers used its service.] From January to March, its total ridership was 1.077 million. According to the data provided in July 2023, the line carries around 70,000 passengers regularly.[ As of August 2023, the number of daily passengers on this line has increased by another 10,000. After the inauguration of the second phase in November 2023, the number of users of the line stands at least 0.1 million daily. By 2024, the number of passengers using the line has almost doubled. In March 2024, the ridership increased to 275,000 daily. At the end of the month the number reached at 0.29 million. During the ]2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement
The 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement was a series of anti-government and pro-democracy protests in Bangladesh, spearheaded primarily by Universities in Bangladesh, university students. Initially focused on restructuring Quota system of B ...
, the road blockade in July resulted in a daily ridership of 360,000, 20% more than regular commuters. According to a DMTCL study, the daily ridership of the line would be 4,83,000 in 2024. On 14 February 2025, it was announced that MRT Line 6 was being used by 400,000 passengers daily.
Incidents
On the first day of operation, the ticket vending machines at the station became unusable, causing passengers to have problems getting tickets. The authority attributed the problem to the failure of the vending machine because the machines did not have enough money to dispense high-value banknotes. After two days the authority succeeded in solving the problem. Also, on 1 January 2023, metro service was suspended for two hours in the morning after New Year's Eve because a string of sky lanterns fell onto the line's overhead wire. After two hours its operation was resumed. DMTCL lost a revenue of due to stoppage of trains for two hours during that time. On February 19 this year, the down line of the MRT Line 6 was temporarily suspended due to a kite getting stuck. Then again six days later, metro services were temporarily suspended due to the same reason.
On 30 April 2023, a rock was thrown at a window of a train bound for Uttara North metro station around Kazipara metro station. Although no one was injured or the window was broken, the window glass was cracked. After the incident, the DMTCL filed a complaint against the unidentified miscreants at the nearby Kafrul Thana. Later, a case was registered against the unidentified persons under the Metrorail Act, 2015 and the police started an investigation to identify them. In the case document, DMTCL stated that the vandalism caused a loss of to the company. Police investigation identified 7-8 possible buildings from which the rock could have been hurled. On the other hand, from the video footage, the metro authority identified the building from where the stone was hurled. On 6 May, the managing director of DMTCL claimed that most of the people in the building had fled their apartments. But he also said that they will be captured. Following the incident, the Detective Branch
The Detective Branch (; abbreviated as DB) is a specialized unit of the Bangladesh Police. It mostly deals with investigative activities and special operations in sensitive cases and places. The main task of the detectives of this unit is to colle ...
began monitoring the buildings around the line. Besides, several rules and restrictions have been issued for access to the roofs of tall buildings. The police officers of the police station of Kafrul identified 5 people as suspects in a two-month investigation, but due to lack of evidence, they could not identify the culprits and arrest them.
On 23 July 2023, a man was traveling from Pallabi metro station to Uttara North metro station when he saw a passenger in the train asking other passengers for alms. He recorded the video of the beggar and uploaded it on Facebook which went viral. As soon as they reached Uttara, he complained to the authorities and the beggar was arrested. On 7 August 2023, the first train left at 8:40 AM instead of 8 AM due to technical issues. Two days later, metro services on the line were suspended for two and a half hours due to an electrical fault. Then on 21st of the same month at around 8.30 am a train was stuck on the line for more than an hour due to an emergency brake which stopped the operation for that time. On 5 November 2023, the operational activities of Motijheel metro station was disrupted due to a technical fault in the automatic ticketing machines.
After the implementation of the new schedule on 20 January 2024, the Motijheel metro station witnessed chaos due to pressure from more passengers. On 23 January 2024, a downed wire on the metro cable towards Karwan Bazar was the reason the authorities had to stop operations for 15 minutes due to caution. On 4 February 2024, the metro service was suspended for about two hours due to a voltage drop on the overhead line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
on the Pallabi section. On 14 February 2024, train service from Motijheel to Uttara North was stopped for an hour after a kite got entangled in an overhead cable at Kazipara. Police arrested two people in this incident. Three days later, metro services were halted for over an hour due to a technical problem with the automatic doors of the stations. It was later revealed that the incident happened when a passenger stuck a water bottle on an automatic door to stop the train at a station. On 19 March 2024, metro services were suspended for 45 minutes due to a rush of passengers at the Bangladesh Secretariat metro station causing the platform's automatic doors to jam.
On 31 March 2024, metro services had to be suspended due to the threat posed by the storm. On the same day, a piece of polythene flew in the air and stuck to the overhead line, forcing metro services to be suspended again to remove it. Due to these reasons, the service on the line was stopped for about two hours on that day. On 25 May 2024, metro services were suspended for around 1 hour at evening due to electrical connection problems which resulted signaling system malfunction. On 27 May 2024, schedule disruption happened for 2 hours in the morning for unknown reasons and train transport was stopped on the Karwan Bazar to Motijheel section for 2 hours in the afternoon due to Cyclone Remal blowing tree branches and a solar panel on the line. On 30 May 2024, metro services were suspended for thirty minutes in the morning due to a technical fault. On 7 July 2024, metro service was suspended for 23 minutes due to power outage.
During the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement
The 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement was a series of anti-government and pro-democracy protests in Bangladesh, spearheaded primarily by Universities in Bangladesh, university students. Initially focused on restructuring Quota system of B ...
, in 11 July, Armed Police Battalion
The Armed Police Battalion is a specialised combat unit of the Bangladesh Police. It is headquartered in Dhaka. The unit has 11 battalions under its command and the Special Security and Protection Battalion has two battalions. Airport Armed Pol ...
were deployed at , and Bangladesh Secretariat metro stations and the metro station at Shahbag was shut down. In 16 July, after members of the ruling Awami League
The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
's student body Chhatra League
Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...
beat up activists of the quota reform movement at the paid zone of Farmgate metro station
Farmgate (, ''Romanisation of Bengali, romanised: Farmget'') is an elevated metro station of the Dhaka Metro's MRT Line 6. This station is located in the neighbourhood of Farmgate. The station commenced operations on 5 November 2023.
References< ...
, members of the Armed Police Battalion were deployed at that station as well. In 18 July, 4 stations were closed at noon as clashes between police and protesters escalated in Mirpur. After that the operation of Line 6 was declared closed due to security reasons at afternoon. The next day, a group of miscreants attacked and stations and damaged them and looted the goods of the stations. In 23 July, the metro authorities filed a case for damaging two metro stations. The attack is said to have caused a loss of to the two stations.[
Minister Obaidul Quader said in 27 July that it would take more than a year to make the two stations operational. On the same day, prime minister Sheikh Hasina asked Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori for the help of the ]government of Japan
The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...
in restoring the two stations. The following day, the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (; abbreviated as DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force uni ...
arrested four people. Two of the accused are members of the student wing Chhatra Dal of Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...
(BNP). Besides, BNP chairperson's advisor Zahir Uddin Swapan, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh.
The origin of the party can be traced back to the original faction founded by Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi in 1941. The predecessor of Jamaat which is known as Ja ...
working council member Samiul Haque Faruqi, student leader Nurul Haq Nur
Nurul Haque Nur (born October 1991), natively known as VP Nur, is a Bangladeshi activist, politician, and currently the 1st President of the Gono Odhikar Parishad political party. He came to prominence in 2018 as a joint-convener of Bangladesh Sa ...
and BNP supporter justice A. K. M. Asaduzzaman's son Mohammad Mahmudus Salehin, who were arrested as an accused in the case, was granted remand. In 30 July, ''The Daily Ittefaq
''The Daily Ittefaq'' (, Bangla pronunciation: ) is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1949 by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, it is the oldest and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. The newspape ...
'' reported that the two affected stations would not receive compensation from the General Insurance Corporation as they were not insured by the metro rail authority. Operation continued on 25 August 2024 excluding Mirpur 10 and Kazipara station. Later, 47 accused in the case were released and Kazipara was reopened in 20 September[ and Mirpur 10 was reopened in 15 October of the same year.]
On 18 September 2024, a viaduct's pad on the line displaced, causing a section of the line to stop operating. Later, after 11 hours, the operation was resumed when the responsible contractor installed new pad. As of October 2024, the ticket crisis caused by passengers not returning nearly 200,000 single-journey tickets to the stations resulted in passengers having to wait for long periods of time to purchase tickets at stations. So the authorities set up a deposit box in front of each station to return the tickets taken.
Issues
Construction
Before the construction work started in 2016, the residents along the route were suffering due to the digging of the road to lay underground electrical cables for the construction in Mirpur. Although people suffered during construction, the use of safety barrier
A safety barrier is a component which prevents passage into a dangerous area, and is commonly used to mitigate risk.
Description
A safety barrier is a component which prevents passage into a dangerous area. It is commonly used to mitigate risk ...
s reduced the suffering. As of 2020, no action was taken to connect the stations with the neighbourhoods of Dhaka by constructing streets yet which could cause increase of traffic jams.
On 29 June 2021, Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam alleged that DMTCL was given a condition to coordinate with the Dhaka North City Corporation
Dhaka North City Corporation () is a local governing body that manages all civic services in the northern part of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The DNCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor, who pr ...
to carry out the construction work, but as they violated the condition, people faced problems during the construction of two stations in Kazipara and Shewrapara. Due to the construction work, the usable roads and streets became narrow. As a result, pedestrians and vehicular movement became difficult and the route became more dangerous.
According to a report published by the private research organization Save the Road on 21 August 2022, mismanagement and inefficiency in the construction of the MRT Line 6 resulted in a loss of in addition to 11,860 working hours being lost. In addition, 3,562 people fell ill due to environmental pollution and 54 patients died as they could not get medical treatment by ambulance as soon as possible caused by the construction work on the roads and streets. According to a news article published by ''Bangla Tribune
Bangla Tribune is a Bengali language news website of Bangladesh. It started its journey on 13 May 2014. It's edited by Zulfiqer Russell and published by Kazi Anis Ahmed. As of July 2021, its Alexa ranking was #16 in Bangladesh and #3,064 globally ...
'', the owners of shopping malls situated along the route of MRT Line 6 suffered losses due to the ongoing construction work in Mirpur area.
The line was built on 13-meter-high pillars. But outside of the country, metro lines are built at a height of more than 15 meters. As the line is lower than 15 meters except for the section at Farmgate
Farmgate is an area in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is one of the busiest and most crowded areas of Dhaka city. From the early 1990s, the area has seen a massive construction boom. Consequently, the area has gained commercial importance ...
, it is impossible to construct any flyover or megastructure on its route. The extension project of Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover was declared terminated for the same reason. The decision to build the line at a height of 13 meters was criticized by experts.
Metro station construction sites lacked sufficient space, so there was no other option but to use pavement space to build escalators. So experts suggested land acquisition for setting up escalators. According to them, the use of sidewalk space for the installation of escalators would increase the traffic jams on the streets. DMTCL had a dispute with Dhaka North City Corporation authority in 2022 due to a lack of space for the MRT Line 6 station's landings and use of pavement space.[ Atiqul Islam called on the builders to refrain from constructing landings on the footpath as it will be difficult for pedestrians to walk.
Atiqul Islam criticized the arrangement saying that DMTCL did not acquire the land before construction for the landings and used the footpath space, saying that it should be ensured that people do not suffer due to the construction of stations. As a result, DMTCL announced the acquisition of land for the landing space of stations. This announcement added some complexity to the construction project.] Besides, during the construction, the pillars of the project was placed on the drains of different areas of the city corporation, causing the city corporation authority to face difficulties in various tasks. According to a news article reported by ''New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
'' in October 2022, construction of entry and exit points for Pallabi, Mirpur 11 and Shewrapara stations had become challenging due to reluctance of residents of the greater Mirpur area to sell plot.
All the pillars of MRT Line 6 are built on the road median except a pillar of its portal frame
Portal frame is a construction technique where vertical supports are connected to horizontal beams or trusses via fixed joints with designed-in moment-resisting capacity. The result is wide spans and open floors.
Portal frame structures can be ...
at Farmgate, placed in the middle of the road to the left of the median, making the road accident-prone and increasing traffic jams on the road. According to the DMTCL authority, this happened because the contractors of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway () is an all-elevated toll road in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. The road, regarded as the country's first elevated expressway, partially opened in 2023. It connects Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with F ...
project did not work in coordination with them during the construction work at Farmgate.
As part of the Kamalapur extension project, DMTCL planned to construct a metro station, loop line for scissor crossing and a yard of 300 meters length at Kamalapur. The intention behind the plan to construct a yard and loop Line in the area was to facilitate metro service on MRT Line 6. In a meeting with Bangladesh Railway in 2020, it was decided that the loop line will be constructed at a distance from the station area. But going beyond the decision, DMTCL conducted a survey for construction of yard and loop line in the station area. On 14 March 2024, the Ministry of Railways warned DMTCL for conducting the survey without permission from the appropriate authorities due to opposition from Bangladesh Railway.[
Anwara Begum was shot dead by the police during the ]1969 East Pakistan mass uprising
The 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising () was a democratic political uprising in East Pakistan. It was led by the students backed by various political parties such as the Awami League, National Awami Party, and Communist party of East Pakistan and ...
. Later people named the field at Farmgate as Anwara Garden in her memory which was popularly known as Anwara Field. Then it was transformed into a park named Shahid Anwara park. It was the only park in the area. In 2018, DMTCL took permission from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works
The Ministry of Housing and Public Works (; ''Gr̥hāẏana ō gaṇapūrta mantraṇālaẏa'') is a ministry of the government of Bangladesh which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in the country.
Directorate
*P ...
to use the park as a site office and equipment storage area for MRT Line 6. The park was supposed to be handed over to the ministry after construction, but the metro authorities applied to hand over the ownership of the park for the construction of the station plaza. On 25 October 2023, the residents protested against this decision. Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan supported the movement. At that time the Home Minister had promised to make efforts to restore the park to its previous condition, but due to no progress in that regard, the agitators demanded on 18 May 2024 that the authorities concerned with the park should return the Anwara park within 30 days. On 13 June 2024, M.A.N. Siddique stated that it would not be possible to release the park site to the authorities until the third phase of MRT Line 6 was completed. He also said that the station plaza would be built at Farmgate while keeping the park. In April 2025, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan
Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan () is a Bangladeshi economist and retired civil servant. He has been serving as adviser for the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of the ...
, ministerial head for Road Transport and Bridges, assured that a part of the park would be vacated by DMTCL before June.
As of transportation experts, its stations are not disability friendly due to absence of multimodal integration system.
Others
In 2013, the Odhikar Unnoyon Songstha reported that the government had illegally appointed Nippon Koei as the consultant in violation of existing rules. Based on the report, JICA warned the government about this, but the government was adamant about its decision. In a meeting held next year, Obaidul Quader expressed his fear and said that if there is any corruption in the Metrorail project, he would have no other option but to leave the ministry. The DTCA authority in the meeting then assured the minister that there is no scope for corruption as there are various parties including JICA as reviewers in the consultant recruitment process. In 2023, Syed Imran Saleh Prince, Acting and Organizing Secretary of the Central Office of BNP, claimed that there has been unlimited corruption and irregularities in the construction of MRT Line 6.
The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) conducted a technical survey and evaluation of nine metro stations. Based on that survey, they requested DMTCL on 27 September 2022 for permission to install antennas to maintain an uninterrupted mobile network in station buildings along with prepared plans. However, the managing director of DMTCL said it was impossible due to technical and architectural reasons and advised the mobile operators to install antennas in the adjacent areas of the route. In response, the mobile operators said that for legal reasons, they are not allowed to do so on the roofs of residential buildings and government buildings and it is not their responsibility to install towers.
Experts criticized the decision to open the entire line from Uttara to Agargaon in 2022. According to passengers and experts, instead of opening the entire line, opening half of the line will increase rather than reduce the suffering of the people.
The maintenance of public toilets at stations on MRT Line 6 has been leased by DMTCL to Boisakhi Security Services Limited who charge passengers to use the toilets. This decision was criticized by passengers. They are also seeing it as "unnecessary expanse" as they have to pay for the fare with it. The authorities responded the issue by saying the additional expanse for public toilet as "service cost".
In 2024, there were reports of passengers failing to board the train as the headway became 10–12 minutes and the train quickly filled up. DMTCL's lack of manpower has been blamed for this. Besides, due to overshooting and undershooting issues, passengers face the problem of getting on and off the train frequently. The technology provider of MRT Line 6 and the metro authority decided to work together to solve the problem.
It is reported that various temporary illegal shops and hawkers occupy in front of the landing part of the stations making it difficult for passengers to enter the stations from the landing.
According to the safety protocol of the line, its operator DMTCL is required to obtain a safety certificate from the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority and arrange insurance for the line as per the law, which the company has not done. According to DMTCL officials, these could not be done due to political pressure.
Impact
During the construction of MRT Line 6, the area around the three metro stations located in Uttara Model Town began to increase in population. The metro facility under construction has the potential to increase connectivity in the Uttara Model Town Phase 3 sectors as housing developers invested a total of in Uttara and Mirpur areas. Due to the construction of MRT Line 6, new buildings are being built in the new sectors developed in Uttara. Besides, various commercial establishments and factories started to develop in the Greater Mirpur area centered on the Metro Rail. Due to the densely populated area of Mirpur, people were less interested in living there due to severe traffic congestion on the streets there. But after the operational activities of MRT Line 6, the demand for apartment rentals in that area has increased.
After the opening of the first phase of MRT Line 6, people traveling from Uttara to Agargaon started using Metro Rail and this led to an increase in the number of passengers using Metro services who used to travel by bus earlier. This has alarmed bus service officials, who fear that bus ridership may drop significantly after the second phase is launched. Therefore, according to the bus transport owners, the management and quality control of bus service has become necessary here to maintain the number of bus transport users serving the route of MRT Line 6. According to a survey conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology () commonly known by its acronym BUET, is a public technological research university in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Founded in 1876 as the Dacca Survey School and gaining univer ...
from 17 July to 14 September 2023, 59.41% of passengers using MRT Line 6 used bus transport services in the past.
According to a report published by Banglanews24.com, after the inauguration of the second phase on 5 November 2023, traffic congestion has reduced in Motijheel, Farmgate and Bijoy Sarani. After the implementation of the new operational period in 2024, the number of private cars on the MRT Line 6 route was relatively low. The opening of all stations on MRT Line 6 has significantly reduced revenue of the ridesharing companies
A ridesharing company (or ridehailing service) is a company (or service offered by a company) that, via websites and mobile apps, matches passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire that, unlike taxis, cannot legally be hailed from the street. ...
due to lack of passengers on its routes. The bus transport companies have faced financial loss as the number of passengers of the buses has decreased significantly after the second phase of the route was fully operational from Agargaon to Motijheel. However, demand for cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s increases as passengers need vehicles to reach the station. In 2022, vehicles used to travel 4.8 kilometers per hour on the route of MRT Line 6. According to the government, as traffic congestion eases after the launch of the line, vehicles can travel 10 kilometers per hour in 2024.
According to Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) of Stamford University, the 14-day average air quality in January 2024 increased by 12.35% compared to 2023, even though the factors responsible for air pollution in Dhaka remained unchanged. According to CAPS, MRT Line 6 is the reason behind this. According to Poribesh Bachao Andolon, the city's air pollution may be lower than previous years due to the same reason.
Legacy
* In 2019, the entrance to the Dhaka International Trade Fair
Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) () is an international trade fair held annually in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is organised by the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh, Export Promotion Bureau in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce (Bang ...
was modeled after a viaduct of MRT Line 6, which included a replica of the Dhaka Metro train.
* International news agency ''BNN Bloomberg
BNN Bloomberg is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name licensed from Bloomberg L.P. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is headquarter ...
'' wrote about the inauguration of the first phase "While the project is likely to bring significant changes to how people travel in Dhaka, its inauguration will also give some much-needed political mileage to Hasina’s government. With elections expected in January 2024, the leader and her party are under pressure as the South Asian nation’s foreign currency reserves dwindle and it battles inflation and energy crises". The Bangladeshi daily ''Amar Desh
''Amar Desh'' (; ) is a Bengali-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka since 2004. ''Amar Desh'' provides news about Bangladesh from local and regional perspectives and covers international news. ''Amar Desh'' is considere ...
'' reported that the then-government had prioritized Line 6 among the proposed metro lines for political advantage and hastily inaugurated it in two phases ahead of the 2024 General election
This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2024 United Nations Security Council election
* 2024 national electoral calendar
* 2024 local electo ...
.
* On the day of the inauguration of MRT Line 6, Bangladesh Bank
Bangladesh Bank (BB; ) is the central bank of Bangladesh and is a member of the Asian Clearing Union. It is fully owned by the Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh.
The bank is active in developing green banking. and financial inclusion poli ...
released a commemorative banknote with a portrait of a metro train traveling on the line on one side.
* Bangladesh Post Office
The Bangladesh Post Office () also known by trade name Bangla Post is a Government of Bangladesh, government-operated agency responsible for providing postal services in Bangladesh. It is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications ...
released a commemorative postal stamp on the day of inauguration.
* A song has been released to mark the launch of the line. The song is composed by Kishore Das and sung by Momtaz Begum
Momtaz Begum (; born 5 May 1961) is a Bangladeshi folk singer and politician. She served as the member of parliament representing the Manikganj-2 constituency from 2014-2025 and Reserved Women's Seat-21 from 2009–2013.
Referred to as "''T ...
.
* On the occasion of Saraswati Puja
Vasant Panchami , also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways ...
in 2023, a replica of MRT Line 6 train has been made in a school field in Akhaura
Akhaura () is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District, a district under Chattogram, Bangladesh. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km2. The main river that run through this upazila is the Titas River. Akhaura played an important historical r ...
.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
MRT Line 6
on the official website of Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority
{{Dhaka Metro Rail
Transport in Uttara
6
2022 establishments in Bangladesh
Railway lines opened in 2022
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Standard-gauge railways in Bangladesh