Not one but two bearing pads fell from Farmgate metro rail section
Engineers begin installing replacement bearing pad at Farmgate after fall
Not one but two bearing pads, used to prevent vibration during train operations, have fallen from the Farmgate section of the Dhaka Metro Rail, according to an engineer who inspected the site this afternoon (26 October).
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A pedestrian, identified as 35-year-old Abul Kalam, was killed on the spot earlier in the day when one of the heavy pads came loose and fell on his head on the footpath near the Farmgate station.
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"We went up and saw that both spring pads were missing. We have looked but couldn't find the second one. The upper diaphragm is now resting on the column because the pads have fallen off," the engineer, a member of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) maintenance team, told The Business Standard.
First responders recovered the first pad from the scene after the incident.
Soon after the tragic accident at noon, a DMTCL maintenance team arrived, and Road Transport and Bridges Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan and other officials visited the scene.
Two engineers climbed up and entered the diaphragm to assess the situation. One of the engineers told TBS that the metro rail cannot operate fully through this section until the pads are reinstalled.
The government has formed a five-member committee to investigate the incident.
The incident comes approximately 13 months after a similar event on 18 September 2024, when a bearing pad fell from the Dhaka Metro Rail viaduct near the same station, suspending train services between Agargaon and Motijheel for 11 hours.
The 2024 incident had already raised serious safety concerns regarding the design and maintenance of the metro rail system.
Experts at the time attributed the failure to a possible design flaw, noting that the pad fell at a curve where trains exert additional pressure on the structure.
What are the functions of a bearing pad?
Bearing pads are located at curved sections of the viaduct, where trains exert additional pressure on the structure. Bearing pads in such locations not only support the weight of the train but also absorb lateral forces and vibrations caused by the train changing direction.
When a pad fails at a curve, it compromises both load distribution and flexibility, increasing stress on the viaduct pillars and joints. This creates a higher risk of structural damage or collapse, especially during heavy train traffic.
Additionally, these pads are designed to protect against dynamic forces like vibrations, shocks, and even seismic activity; without them functioning correctly, both the train and people near the track are exposed to serious hazards.
In short, failures in high-pressure, curved sections amplify risks far more than at straight sections of the viaduct.
Engineers start installing bearing pad of metro rail
Engineers and technicians from Bangladesh and Japan have begun work to install a bearing pad of the metro rail at Farmgate after one fell off earlier today.
"The work to install a bearing pad started around 3pm today, soon after the incident," an official of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) told journalists at the site.
He said engineers and technicians were working to install the replacement pad with the help of cranes.
