Globally metro system run with 5 coaches except Bangladesh: Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that the government would focus on reducing the frequency of trains rather than increasing the number of coaches in metro train amidst growing passenger demand.

The minister told this to media while responding a question at the Secretariat in the capital on Monday.

Replying to a question on the possibility to increase the number of coaches to tackle demand of growing passengers, the minister said metro rail is not like Bangladesh Railway, where coaches can be added anytime.

He pointed out that globally, no country operates metro systems with more than five coaches but Bangladesh currently has six functional compartments.

Currently, the trains, each with six coaches, operate from 8am to 8:30pm, every 10-12 minutes.

He also said the coach numbers could not be increased due to technical reasons but the steps were taken to run a train every eight minutes while the current frequency is 10 minutes.

Quader said, “We cannot change or add anything we want”.

He said the government remains committed to the original plans without compromising on allocated funds and it also emphasised the importance of maintaining project integrity and avoiding deviation from the established course.

He expressed surprise at the suggestion put forth by some newspaper editorials advocating for adding additional carriages to the metro train.

He also mentioned that there is no opportunity to increase it further. A plan is being made to reduce the interval time by two minutes.