Substandard bearing pads, flawed designs caused Metro rail accident

The inquiry committee on bearing pad accident has finally concluded its investigation finding alignment design fault and standard deviation in bearing pads as causes for the fall of heavily weighing metal material from critical turning alignment twice in a year.
But the committee members considering lack of adequate expertise on the highly technical Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system recommended conducting detailed review of the structural and track design by a third party independent consultant as well as laboratory tests from foreign country to be confirmed of its findings.
Road Transport and Bridges Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan shared this at a press conference held at the conference room of the Road Transport and Highway Division on Thursday in presence of the committee members. Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Rail, Road Transport Sheikh Moinuddin was also present.
The investigation committee was formed after Abul Kalam, 35, a resident of Shariatpur district, was killed when a bearing pad fell on him from a pillar near Farmgate station of MRT 6 while he was passing through the footpath on October 26.
There was another accident of bearing pad fall last in September, 2024 with no casualty.
Bridge Division secretary Mohammad Abdur Rouf led the five-member investigation committee. The number of the committee members was increased to nine and the committee took over two months to come to a conclusion.
Professor Dr ABM Toufique Hasan (BUET), Lieutenant Colonel Md Zahidul Islam (MIST) and Brigadier General (Retd.) Mohammad Abdul Wahab (DMTCL), additional experts from BUET and a representative from the CID's forensic department were among the members of the final team.
Although the two bearing pads fell from the pier 433 on October 26, the committee members, however, did not find that one pad that went missing had any link of sabotage to the metro rail accident.
The members said two bearing pads were seen falling at a time through CCTV but one was not traced.
Answering to questions, the Adviser said board members of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited would take decision on further review of the committee findings as well as any actions to be taken against any party.
"If any action is to be taken against all concerned including supervision consultant or contractor would be decided by the DMTCL board," he told the journalists.

smunima@yahoo.com