The Daily Morning Voice Online Desk: The metro rail will transport passengers between Agargaon and Uttara until 5:00 pm today, Sunday, to ensure the smooth movement of devotees attending the second phase of Biswa Ijtema. The rail service generally remains available for four hours, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, a day. This is the first time when the metro rail is running for nine hours a day, said the Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTCL).

The second chapter of Ijtema commenced on Friday and is going to end through Akheri Munajat (final prayer) today. Earlier, the road transport and bridges ministry issued a press release on Thursday, with the announcement of the special timetable marking the final prayer of Biswa Ijtema. The release said the metro rail will transport passengers between Agargaon and Uttara for nine hours with no break on 22 January. The sale of MRT passes will remain suspended at the stations from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the day.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country’s first metro rail on 28 December and it was opened to the public on the next day. It is now operating between Agargaon and Uttara on a limited scale. The authorities recently announced that the Pallabi station would be opened on 25 January to expand the rail service to Mirpur.