Metro rail service time to be increased from Sunday

Dhaka Metro rail will extend its operating hours by one hour starting this Sunday. The first train will depart half an hour earlier in the morning, and the last train will run half an hour later at night.

The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), responsible for operating and managing the metro rail, confirmed that in the middle of next month, the number of trips will also increase. Once additional trips begin, the interval between two trains will be reduced by at least two minutes.

DMTCL sources said the authorities decided last month to extend operating hours and increase trips. A trial run began on September 25, and in a meeting on Tuesday, DMTCL approved the first step: adding one extra hour of service daily.

“Service expansion will be gradual,” DMTCL Managing Director Faruk Ahmed informed the media. “We are conducting extensive tests to ensure smooth operation. From Sunday, we aim to add one extra hour to the daily schedule. Additional trips will begin after further trial runs, likely by mid-November.”

Currently, six-day-a-week service (Saturday to Thursday) starts at 7:10 am from Uttara North Station, with the last train at 9:00 pm. Under the new schedule, the first train will depart at 6:40 am., and the last will leave at 9:30 pm.

On Fridays, operations will also begin half an hour earlier—at 2:30 pm instead of 3:00 pm and continue half an hour longer at night.