City planners against metro rail in Chattogram

• They want Bus Rapid Transit or dedicated lane for buses 
• Oppose metro rail citing cost amid global volatility 
• Foreign currency crisis is nother reason they cite against metro 

The Forum for Planned Chattogram (FPC), a voluntary citizens' group for ensuring a better urban living environment in the port city, opposed the construction of a metro rail in Chattogram city, citing various reasons, including cost and duration of the project at a time when Bangladesh is hit by the ongoing global volatility and deepening foreign currency crisis.    

Instead of a metro rail, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or dedicated lane for public buses could be constructed in Chattogram city for quality service, said FPC Vice President, transport expert Engr Subhash Barua, while reading out a written statement at a press briefing at the S Rahman Hall of the Chattogram Press Club on Sunday.  

Engr Subhash cited a survey on metro rails in various countries, conducted by the GTZ (German Agency for Technical Cooperation) in 2003, which said that BRT can provide the same quality of service as metro rail at a fraction of the cost of metro rail.

"The construction, operation and maintenance cost of BRT is much less than metro rail," he said.

He cited another survey conducted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) for Indonesia which stated that a 426-kilometre BRT corridor can be built at a cost of $1 billion. A 40-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT), a 14-kilometre elevated metro rail or a 7-kilometre metro rail share the same construction cost, according to the report.

A metro rail takes 2-3 years for the feasibility study and a total of 10 years for completion, which is too long, said the FPC vice president.

The Chattogram Master Plan (1995), Detailed Area Plan (2008) and Strategic Master Plan (2018) had recommendations about traffic management, vehicle management (TDM), dedicated lanes for public buses, footpath management, junction design renovation and management, ensuring 100% utilisation of existing roads and ensuring enforcement of traffic laws, he added.

Citing the differences between Dhaka and Chattogram, Engr Subhash said that 21 million passenger trips are made in the capital city every day whereas the toll stands at 6.7 million per day in Chattogram city, which may increase to 10.4 million trips in 2030. 

According to the Chattogram Strategic Urban Transport Masterplan (2018), Chattogram's CDA Avenue Road will see a peak ridership of 9,500 to 17,000 commuters during peak hours from 2017 to 2030.

FPC claimed that there was a mistake in the plan of BRT in Dhaka, which caused many complications. On the other hand, a corridor has already been fixed for the BRT in Chattogram. 

"Mobility solutions for cities and ports are multidimensional in nature. It is not possible to solve the problems of Chattogram city only by simplifying it, since it is a port city," said the FPC vice president.

FPC President Prof Muhammad Sikander Khan, Adviser Prof Shafiq Haider Chowdhury, Vice President Engr ABMA Baset, architects Ahmed Jinnur and Bidhan Barua, Joint Secretary General Taslima Muna and members Prof Dr Nazim Uddin and Tanvir Pial were present at the briefing.