Metro Ridership Falls 10% Following Bearing-Pad Incident: DMTCL MD
Dhaka’s electric metro rail has seen a decline of nearly 10% in daily ridership after the recent bearing-pad accident, according to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) Managing Director Faruq Ahmed.
He shared the update at a press briefing held on Monday, 1 December, at the Metro Rail headquarters in Uttara’s Diabari.
Faruq Ahmed stated that the metro previously carried an average of 460,000 passengers daily. The number has now dropped to around 400,000.
Addressing the decision to suspend metro services after 8 pm on the night a teenager climbed onto the roof through the gap between two coaches at the Secretariat station, he said the shutdown was necessary to ensure security. “We halted the entire service and searched each train. This morning, we also inspected with a sweeper train to check if anyone remained. For us, safety comes first,” he said.
To prevent similar incidents, CCTV cameras will be installed at station entry points to identify the source of any security breach. He added that 65% of people in Farmgate Park are now aware of the security protocols.
Meanwhile, the cost of the metro rail extension from Motijheel to Kamalapur has been reduced by Tk 754 crore. Despite the extension of the project timeline, the lower budget was approved at the 6th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for the fiscal year 2025–26.
DBTech/JU/EK/OR
