<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Daily commuters including service holders and traders have expressed joy as the Metro Rail authorities are operating trains every 8 minutes during peak hours from Saturday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The number of metro rail trips increased to 26 and as a result a total of 178 trains will run each day instead of 152, said MN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).</div><div><br></div><div>About the new timings, Siddque said, three trains will run from Uttara between 7:10 am to 7:30 am and&nbsp; train will run from 7:31am to 11:48 am every 8 minutes during peak hours. After that, train will run from 11:49am to 3:12pm (off peak hours)&nbsp; every12 minutes as before and&nbsp; every 8 minutes from 3:13pm to 8:00 pm (peak hours), he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Nazrul Isalm, a regular commuter of the Metro Rail at Mirpur-11 Rail Station, said the pressure of commuters is comparatively less due to the new schedule and it’s a relief for people.</div><div><br></div><div>Hossain, another commuter at the same station, said “It will be better if the timing can be reduced to 3.5 minutes.”</div><div><br></div><div>Except Friday, now Metro Rail will run from Uttara-Motijheel from 7:10 am to 8:40 pm while the MRT and Rapid Pass users can travel by metro rail that leaves Motijheel&nbsp; station at 8 pm.</div><div><br></div><div>At present, the trains run every 10 minutes during peak hours and every 12 minutes during off-peak hours. The new timings are applicable for peak hours only, said MN Siddique, reports UNB.</div><div><br></div><div>He said that earlier the number of trains' trips were 152 every day, now it has been increased to 178.</div><div><br></div><div>Siddique also said that currently metro trains carry about 2.70 lakh passengers on an average every day.</div><div><br></div><div>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the first metro rail in Dhaka on December 28, 2022. At that time the metro train was running from Uttara to Agargaon.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>