Extension of the city's first metro rail has been proposed up to Kamalapur station with the challenge of managing space for high-speed train to take a sharp turn from Motijheel, sources said.
General Consultant of the Dhaka Metro Rail Development Project recommended various options to continue the mass rapid transit line-6 (MRT-6) from Motijheel to Kamalapur in a pre- feasibility study.
The study, which was submitted to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) last week, is now under review, sources added.
Official sources said as the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) recommended Kamalapur station as one of the city's gateways, extension of the MRT-6 was suggested up to the station instead of Saidabad recommended earlier by the Cabinet.
The Cabinet approved the 20-km MRT-6 in 2014 with the recommendation to find ways to extend the line up to Saidabad through a route behind the Bangladesh Bank.
But transport experts including Japanese experts found such an extension not viable as it will be a repetition of the mass transit system on the same corridor when another MRT line (MRT-1) will end at Saidabad coming from Airport station through Pragati Sarani in the future.
"Though there is still a challenge to take the MRT-6 through a narrow road beside the Bangladesh Bank, a decision was taken to conduct a feasibility study on Kamalapur part of the extension to find out best possible option," said Mohammad Kaikobad Hossain, Executive Director of the DTCA.
He said the study will start after getting clearance of fund for the work.
However, sources said, all the options studied in the pre-feasibility study have challenges like lack of space and demolition of already built structures.
The option of going underground was also recommended. But it was rejected on the ground of facing difficulty during construction as it will occupy maximum space of the existing road that faces heavy traffic.
When all these issues were brought to his notice, the DTCA ED said the feasibility study will try to find the level of affected buildings for taking the MRT-6 through the narrow road.
Though the STP recommended MRT-6 to be set up on north-south direction up to Jatrabari-Saidabad area, it could not be possible due to construction of the Mayor Hanif flyover. Later, the route was diverted towards Motijheel Shapla Chattar in a study keeping the option of extending the line up to Saidabad through further study.
The RSTP, however, recommended the extension of the MRT-6 towards Kamalapur from Motijheel on one side and Export Processing Zone (EPZ) at Savar from Uttara on the other.
After extension, the length of MRT-6 is likely to be 41 km.
The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (DMRTD) Project is implementing the 20.1-km MRT-6 line with technical and financial assistance from Japan.
smunima@yahoo.com
Extension of metro rail up to Kamalapur station proposed
Munima Sultana | Published: December 31, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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