Dhaka plans two monorail routes by 2030 as detailed design work proceeds

The government is moving ahead with a plan to build two monorail routes in the capital Dhaka by 2030. The pre-feasibility study has been completed, and work on the detailed design of the two routes is now under way.

Dr Md Mashiur Rahman, additional executive director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), said the proposed monorail system would play a role in expanding the capital's public transport network. It would ease passenger movement as an environmentally friendly, sustainable and efficient mode of transport, he said, especially in areas with high passenger demand.

Mashiur Rahman said the proposed monorail routes would have opportunities to connect with the existing and planned metro rail and other public transport systems. Such connections could play an important role in easing the last leg of metro rail passengers' journeys to their destinations, he said.

Consultants from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) have already completed the pre-feasibility study. BUET's Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (BRTC) carried out the study. Detailed design work is now in progress and is planned to be finished within the stipulated time.

The DTCA conducted model-based surveys of traffic movement in different parts of the capital to determine passenger demand. The data were later given to the BUET consultants for analysis, Mashiur Rahman said.

He said the DTCA had signed a consultancy contract titled 'Consultancy Service for Pre-Feasibility Study of Monorail Alignment Integration with Mass Transit Networks in Dhaka Metropolitan Region' to examine how monorail routes could be integrated with the mass transit networks in the Dhaka metropolitan region and to assess feasibility. Under the contract, the detailed design is to be submitted within the next six months.

According to project-related information, the government has allocated Tk 75.7 million from the revenue budget for the pre-feasibility study and the detailed design of the two proposed monorail routes.

The updated Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) proposes five monorail routes totalling about 79.4 kilometres. The proposed routes are Airport-Bashundhara via Purbachal and Jalsiri (25.2 km), Middle Badda-Bhulta (14.6 km), Rampura-Demra (10.3 km), Mohammadpur-Postagola (11.7 km) and Airport-Savar via Uttara Center (17.6 km).

The proposal also mentions Monorail-8 from Dhaka University's TSC to Kamrangirchar with nine stations, Monorail-10 from Alubdi to West Agargaon or Shyamoli with ten stations, and Monorail-13 from Paltan to Sadarghat or Jhilmil with six or eleven stations.

Mashiur Rahman said the final two routes would be selected on the basis of technical, economic and environmental evaluation, giving importance to passenger demand, potential benefits and financial viability. One priority route is planned to be selected within three months and the entire study completed within six months.

The study will assess route locations, possible station and depot sites, passenger demand, technical and structural suitability, economic feasibility, and environmental and social impacts. Construction cost, passenger-carrying capacity and operating cost will also be evaluated. Domestic and expatriate Bangladeshi experts have been engaged as consultants for the work.

A monorail runs on an elevated structure. The DTCA is examining how effective the system would be in Dhaka's densely populated areas, where road space is limited. The initiative to introduce monorail in Dhaka has been taken in line with an election pledge, as part of the government's broader effort to reduce congestion in the capital and improve the urban transport system.