Underground Metro: First one by 2026

[Bilal9]

They used cut and cover in the 70's in Kolkata, when it was already densely populated. Question of planning comes in to minimize suffering of course, but sometimes buildings have to go and utilities have to be re-routed.

Look at the Turag river bank demolishing situation now and the BGMEA bldg. in Hatirjheel which is going to go - which wasn't in the way of anything. Rangs Bhaban in previous decades had to go because they had to build a highway overpass connector....



Who knows why, maybe cost is a reason. These are the next two routes to be built - I don't know what the number of the new one to Purbachal is. Notice below how one is underground (Line 1) and the other is not (I believe some idiot switched the legend for the station colors/types).

Badda, Rampura, Malibagh and Kamalapur are all unplanned growth areas with no zoning so underground construction is a must. Dhaka is a highly f*cked up city as far as zoning, with no zoning enforcement, people encroaching into main and side roads etc. Horrible.

I am guessing soil strength could also be a factor in what mode is chosen.

Here is more news about MRT lines 1 and 5, some portion of both to be underground.

2 new metro rail routes in the offing
Hasibul Aman
5th July, 2019 09:35:49

The government is seriously mulling over construction of two new metro rails in the capital to give city dwellers a big sigh of relief from Dhaka’s nagging traffic congestion.

The new routes will be metro rail line 1 and 5, most part of which will be underground and connect the airport with Kamalapur and Hemayetpur with Vatara.

Road transport and highways division has already sent two development project proforma (DPP) to the planning commission for approval, sources familiar with the matter said.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing financial and technical assistance to the schemes.

The cost of the two new metro rails has been primarily estimated at Tk 93,161 crore of which JICA will provide Tk 63,850 crore as loans while the rest of Tk 29,311 crore will come from the state coffer.

Currently, work is going on for 20 km elevated metro rail line-6 from Uttara to Motijheel in two phases with Japan’s financial and technical assistance.

According to the project document, the length of metro rail line-1 will be 31.24 km from Airport to Kamalapur of which 19 km will go underground and the rest will be elevated track.

On the other hand, 14 km of 20 km metro rail line-5 from Hemayetpur to Vatara will be underground rail line and the rest will be elevated.

Planning commission high-ups said they have already held a project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting on the proposals. Some changes have been brought to the projects after PEC suggested for it.

The projects may be recommended for ECNEC meeting for final approval by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by next month, they informed.

The cost of line-1 has been estimated at Tk 51,600 crore where Japan will extend Tk 33,094 crore loan support and the government will bear Tk 17,986 crore.

Its completion deadline has been set at 2027. It will be able to carry 14 lakh people every day which will be later increased to 19 lakh.

The construction of metro rail line-5 will cost the government Tk 41,261 crore where Japan is expected to provide Tk 30,756 crore loan.

Its completion deadline has primarily been set at 2028.

In the first phase, 16.4km metro rail line-1 will be constructed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur, and in the next phase, a route will be constructed from Kuril to Purbachal via Bashundhara.

The project will have a total of 21 stations and an interchange with the line-5 Notun Bazar-Baridhara station.

The MRT line-5 will be the second underground rail line with two routes—one in the north and another in the south.

The 20km north section will run from Hemayetpur-Gabtali-Mirpur-Banani-Gulshan to Notun Bazar and Vatara.

The south segment’s length will be 15km and it will have eight underground stations at Gabtali-Adabar-Mohammadpur-Kalabagan-Karwanbazar-Hatirjheel-South Badda and Aftab Nagar.

 

[UKBengali]

Here is more news about MRT lines 1 and 5, some portion of both to be underground.

2 new metro rail routes in the offing
Hasibul Aman
5th July, 2019 09:35:49

The government is seriously mulling over construction of two new metro rails in the capital to give city dwellers a big sigh of relief from Dhaka’s nagging traffic congestion.

The new routes will be metro rail line 1 and 5, most part of which will be underground and connect the airport with Kamalapur and Hemayetpur with Vatara.

Road transport and highways division has already sent two development project proforma (DPP) to the planning commission for approval, sources familiar with the matter said.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing financial and technical assistance to the schemes.

The cost of the two new metro rails has been primarily estimated at Tk 93,161 crore of which JICA will provide Tk 63,850 crore as loans while the rest of Tk 29,311 crore will come from the state coffer.

Currently, work is going on for 20 km elevated metro rail line-6 from Uttara to Motijheel in two phases with Japan’s financial and technical assistance.

According to the project document, the length of metro rail line-1 will be 31.24 km from Airport to Kamalapur of which 19 km will go underground and the rest will be elevated track.

On the other hand, 14 km of 20 km metro rail line-5 from Hemayetpur to Vatara will be underground rail line and the rest will be elevated.

Planning commission high-ups said they have already held a project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting on the proposals. Some changes have been brought to the projects after PEC suggested for it.

The projects may be recommended for ECNEC meeting for final approval by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by next month, they informed.

The cost of line-1 has been estimated at Tk 51,600 crore where Japan will extend Tk 33,094 crore loan support and the government will bear Tk 17,986 crore.

Its completion deadline has been set at 2027. It will be able to carry 14 lakh people every day which will be later increased to 19 lakh.

The construction of metro rail line-5 will cost the government Tk 41,261 crore where Japan is expected to provide Tk 30,756 crore loan.

Its completion deadline has primarily been set at 2028.

In the first phase, 16.4km metro rail line-1 will be constructed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur, and in the next phase, a route will be constructed from Kuril to Purbachal via Bashundhara.

The project will have a total of 21 stations and an interchange with the line-5 Notun Bazar-Baridhara station.

The MRT line-5 will be the second underground rail line with two routes—one in the north and another in the south.

The 20km north section will run from Hemayetpur-Gabtali-Mirpur-Banani-Gulshan to Notun Bazar and Vatara.

The south segment’s length will be 15km and it will have eight underground stations at Gabtali-Adabar-Mohammadpur-Kalabagan-Karwanbazar-Hatirjheel-South Badda and Aftab Nagar.

Good to see 30% of money will be financed by BD itself.

 

[Bilal9]

Some Mitsubishi rolling stock press release information for MRT Line 6, which is the first one, before MRT lines 1 and 5 (partly underground) get implemented. It is highly probable that lines 1 and 5 will use the same type of rolling stock for parts commonality and maintenance reasons.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 7, 2017
Mitsubishi Corporation
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited Orders for Supplying Rolling Stock and Maintenance Depot Equipment for the First MRT System in Bangladesh, Dhaka MRT Line-6
Tokyo, August 7　-　Mitsubishi　Corporation　(MC)　and Kawasaki　Heavy　Industries　Ltd.　have　been　awarded　and　approximately　JPY 40 billion contract for the supply of 144cars of rolling stock and maintenance depot　equipment for Dhaka MRT Line-6 from Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), a company owned by the government of Bangladesh

In this contract, Kawasaki will be responsible for overall project management, design, manufacture, testing and commissioning, supply of rolling stock and major depot equipment, provision of training to DMTCL’s operation and maintenance personnel. In addition, Kawasaki will supervise maintenance work for rolling stock and depot equipment to be performed by DMTCL, while MC will be responsible for commercial administrations and partial supply of depot equipment.

The rolling stock to be supplied under this contract will be made of stainless steel which has technical advantages such as lightweight and high durability. The rolling stock will be equipped with internal and external CCTV cameras for monitoring passengers’ conditions to ensure safety of passengers both in saloons and on the platforms. Besides, two sets of air conditioning units with large capacity will be mounted on each car to sustain comfortable saloon ambience even under high temperature and humidity in Dhaka City.

Dhaka MRT Line-6 will be the first MRT system in Bangladesh with 20km length fully elevated route comprising 16 stations connecting Uttara North to major business and commercial hub of Dhaka, Motijheel. Dhaka is one of the most crowded cities in the world with a population of over 15 million including its surrounding areas where chronic traffic congestion is an issue due to continuous population growth and traffic expansion. It is expected that MRT Line-6 will contribute to promote converting major transportation mode from road to rail and will eventually improve urban convenience, root out economic loss and alleviate greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, construction of Dhaka MRT Line-6 is progressing in full swing with Japan ODA Loan Agreement concerning infrastructure development signed between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the government of Bangladesh.

At present, apart from Dhaka MRT Line-6, construction of other MRT in Dhaka is also being planned. With the rapid economic growth and urbanization, demand for MRT rolling stock in Bangladesh is expected to continue increasing in future as well.

MC and Kawasaki will proactively continue to develop rolling stock business in Bangladesh by effectively utilizing this very first opportunity and will also continue contributing to the development of economy and society in developing countries through urban transport development.

Outline of Rolling Stock for Dhaka MRT Line-6
(1) Car Type: Commuter cars (24 six-car trainsets, total of 144 cars)
(2) Dimensions: 19.8m (L) x 2.95m (W) x 4.1m (H)
(3) Carbody Material: Stainless Steel

[Dhaka MRT Line-6 Rolling Stock Image]

[Dhaka MRT Line-6 Route Map]

Among those attending the August 6 signing ceremony were (from left): Makoto Ogawara (President, Rolling Stock Company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries); Masato Watanabe (Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh); Obaidul Quader (Minister of Road Transport & Bridges of Bangladesh); Tetsuji Nakagawa (Infrastructure Business Division COO, Mitsubishi Corporation); and Takuji Naruse (General Manager, Transportation Infrastructure Business Department, Mitsubishi Corporation).

 

[itsanufy]

@bluesky

Bangladesh is in a delta with lots of rivers and heavy torrential rain. If we dig 10-15 feet water starts to sip out of the ground. As a civil engineer, can you tell if underground metro is feasible for BD? I suspect the tunnels will be flooded during monsoon periods?

Kolkata is a city build in swamps and 90 km from sea. We have underground metro from 1987. It just passes below a lake which is one of the national lakes of India. Current extension is running below the mighty Bhagirathi.
Even I know cities where metro runs into bay.
Japanese are masters in technology, you can depend on them.

 

[Bilal9]

We have a few rolling stock and ridership stats in Page 2 of this PDF,

http://www.pccl.pleiades-group.com/en/projects/download/(MRT Line 6)PCCL_Project_OverView_20161101.pdf

Says that daily ridership for Line 6 (first route) will be around half a million by 2021 and 1.3 million in 2051. Train composition to be 6 cars per set and there will be 24 sets available. Headway at peak time (train arrival intervals) to be 4 minutes and 30 seconds in 2021.

But as we all know - these numbers are theoretical. And at non-peak times trains will arrive spaced out a lot more.

 

[Michael Corleone]

by the pace of it all... looks like i will become an old man but dhaka won't be fixed according to my standard even then

 

[Bilal9]

by the pace of it all... looks like i will become an old man but dhaka won't be fixed according to my standard even then

Metrorail will start running by end of 2019.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Metrorail will start running by end of 2019.

which is the first line? i'll be home next year instead of this so i could try it out

 

[Michael Corleone]

Don't know where you live, but this might be true for me.



Uttora-Mirpur-Agargaon-Shahbag-Polton-Motjheel route.

this is the one that goes to the airport right? damn i could literally take the metro from the airport and go home...
(don't have a car in bd, still working on that)

 

[The Ronin]

this is the one that goes to the airport right? damn i could literally take the metro from the airport and go home...
(don't have a car in bd, still working on that)

Nah that's MRT line-6. Your's and mine is MRT-4. Ok we will get old together.

 

[Michael Corleone]

Nah that's MRT line-6. Your's and mine is MRT-4. Ok we will get old together.

ah shit... probably by the time i graduate and head to bangladesh to find someone to marry, hope it's either completed or i have a car xD

 

[Bilal9]

ah shit... probably by the time i graduate and head to bangladesh to find someone to marry, hope it's either completed or i have a car xD

As @Ronin mentioned Line 6 will come first which is Uttara to Motijheel. Then the next ones will be Line 5 and then Line 1 together followed by other ones. Each line will take 5-6 years to implement.

Since there has been quite a few changes in route planning, here is latest status of Line 6.

Here is latest status of Line 1 (with later branch going to Purbachal)

which is the first line? i'll be home next year instead of this so i could try it out

Line 6 will be the first.

 

[Michael Corleone]

As @Ronin mentioned Line 6 will come first which is Uttara to Motijheel. Then the next ones will be Line 5 and then Line 1 together followed by other ones. Each line will take 5-6 years to implement.

Since there has been quite a few changes in route planning, here is latest status of Line 6.

Here is latest status of Line 1 (with later branch going to Purbachal)

Line 6 will be the first.

ah shit... i could use line 6 if it was connected to airport... but looks like i will be waiting for line 1 to go to my other house in Hatirzheel
buying a car is the only option then

 

[Bilal9]

Underground metros are a separate project and feasibility (for four underground lines including the aforementioned Line 1 above at 20 to 40m depth) has been completed by a Spanish company Grupo Typsa. A contract has been signed with a four company consortium headed by Nippon Koei.

Grupo Typsa is a large contractor with many multi-national infra projects in various phases under their belt (including some highway projects in California and Arizona). And if anyone hasn't heard of Nippon Koei, they have been living under a rock. NK is one of the largest and most reputed construction firms. I believe they are also the contractor for the Shahjalal Airport third terminal project.

A few videos,

First one is feasibility and other info

Second one is a video about underground line-1, first and second phases.

 

[Bilal9]

Soil testing has begun for above ground branch of MRT line 1 in Purbachal Highway. Airport to Kamalapur section will be underground, Purbachal section will be above ground. Please see map above.