The first-ever metro rail services on line-6 is going to be opened by December, 2022, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the three mega projects—Padma Bridge, Karnaphuli Tunnel and Metro Rail Line-6 the next year. Metro Rail is not a dream now as it is a visible reality,” he said while inaugurating the test run of the metro rail for reassessing their performances.

Read:Dhaka Metro Rail goes on trial run

The overall work of Metro rail line-6 will be completed in the next six months and 62.29% work has been completed by August 31 while 88% work of from Uttara-Mirpur area has been completed, he said.

The experimental movement of Metro rail over viaduct was launched around 11:45 am from Uttara Metro Rail depot.

NM Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Tranjit Company Limited, representative from the Japanese Embassy in Bangladesh and representatives from Jaica and Metro Rail Advisory Organization were present during the inaugural programme.

Earlier, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd on Friday put a train of six metro rail coaches on a trial run on Diya Bari-Mirpur route.

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, told UNB that they put six couches on a trial run from Diya Bari to Mirpur in the morning to check the track from Uttara to Agargaon.

Read:Dhaka’s first-ever metro rail set to start by December 2022, says project chief

Four sets of trains -- each comprising six air-conditioned coaches -- have already reached Bangladesh from Japan and five more sets are scheduled to arrive by September next.

There will be a total of 144 coaches for the 24 train sets that will run on a 21km-route from Uttara to Kamalapur Railway Station via Agargaon, Farmgate, Dhaka University campus and Motijheel. There will be a total of 17 stations, according to project documents.