The Dhaka metro rail has extended its operations by one hour from today, with trains now running half an hour earlier in the morning and half an hour later at night.
According to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), the first train will now depart at 6:30am instead of 7:10am, while the last trip will depart at 10:10pm instead of 9:40pm.
On Fridays, the weekly holiday, metro services will start at 2:30pm instead of 3:00pm.
DMTCL announced the decision to extend the operational hours on Wednesday. The new schedule took effect today (Sunday).
Besides the extended hours, DMTCL said it plans to increase the number of daily trips within a month.
Currently, more than 400,000 passengers commute daily on the Uttara-Motijheel route, which operates with 24 train sets -- each comprising six coaches.
Of these, 12 sets are currently in service throughout the day.
Once the number of trips increases, 19 sets will be operated simultaneously, which is expected to raise the daily passenger count to over 500,000, according to DMTCL estimates.