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Commuter rail or mass-transit rail is better than monorail: DCCI

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December 26, 2000 

Dhaka--(UNB)- Country’s premier chamber suggested that the government should go for a commuter rail or other mass-transit rail system discarding the proposed monorail in the city.

Monorail will be of little use in handling the huge traffic in the city, said Dhaka Chamber that also felt that the proposed routes also would not be viable.

It advised the government to revise the route maps and develop those in phases on BOO or BOT basis so that cost is recovered from operating revenues.

Otherwise, it warned in a statement, the government would be stuck with another KAFCO-like project with haemorrhaging losses and little or no benefit for city wayfarers.

Quoting the new Dhaka Master Plan 1995-2015, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the plan envisaged a commuter rail network as a long-term solution to the city’s staggering traffic problem.

The Chamber, pointing to the substantial differences between the two systems, said the monorail is usually found connecting two exposition centres, such as Vancouver World Fair, Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“These are small, elevated single rail systems that carry very small volume of people between different exposition centres, not designed to carry large volumes of people,” the Chamber said, giving its reaction to government initiative to build monorail in the overcrowded city.

Rather it referred to commuter rails like that in Toronto or light rail transport, specially meant in Bangkok or Manila for carrying a very high volume of people.

The Dhaka Chamber also raised a point of objection about the parties the government initiated talks with, as reported in the press. The business body said the parties consulted are not well known in the relevant field, and the selection process also should be transparent and open.

Before going for a final deal with any company for such a mass- transit system the government should prepare a technical feasibility study to identify the most suitable and effective rail system with more useful route options, it suggested.

For developing a better mass-transport system the government should look for a light or commuter rail or a combination of both in joint venture of public and private sectors. The system will have to be operated on build-own-operate (BOO) or build-own-transfer (BOT) basis.

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