The authorities have closed services of the metro rail for an indefinite period from today considering ‘public safety’.
In a message, sent to the media on Friday, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited said that the movement of the metro rail services would be closed from July 20 (Saturday) until further notice for public safety.
The announcement came when the country was reeling from violent and deadly clashes where at least 80 people were killed and hundreds injured (till Friday 8:00pm) as the police and ruling party supporters clashed with student protesters seeking a reform in the quota system in public services in places across the country in the past few days.
Earlier, metro rail services in Dhaka were shortened by four-hour on Thursday (July 18) by stopping the services at 5:30pm for the sake of the public safety.
In a Facebook post the DMTCL, the implementing agency of the metro rail, said that the last train of Thursday started from the Motijheel metro station to the Uttara North station at 5:30pm.
Earlier in the day, the services had been suspended in Mirpur-11, Mipur-10, Kazipara and Shewrapara stations from 2:25pm till 5:30pm.
Since 2:25pm the trains ran on the Uttara North-Pallabi and Agargaon-Motijheel sections only.
Usually the metro rail services are available till 9:30pm.
Metro rail services’ weekly off day is Friday.
The 20.1-kilometre-long Mass Rapid Transit Line–6 project, popularly known as the metro rail, was inaugurated on the 11.73-kilometre-long Uttara–Agargaon section on December 28, 2022.
The services of the country’s first-ever electricity-powered elevated and air-conditioned rail system from Agargaon to Motijheel were inaugurated in November 2023.