A partial failure in the national grid left several areas of Dhaka and various parts of the country without electricity for nearly two hours on Tuesday. Although the power supply to one of the metro rail substations was disrupted, it had no impact on train operations.
The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has stated that metro rail services will not be halted even if the entire country experiences a complete nationwide blackout.
Speaking to Chitra Post following Tuesday's partial grid failure, DMTCL Director (Operation and Maintenance) Md. Nazrul Islam assured that train operations remained uninterrupted as they continued to receive power from the Uttara substation.
Currently, the metro rail operates along the Uttara-to-Motijheel route, supported by two primary substations located in Uttara and Motijheel. According to DMTCL sources, the Motijheel substation—which receives power from Maniknagar—shut down during the grid failure. Meanwhile, the Uttara substation is supplied with electricity from Tongi.
When the Motijheel substation went offline, the power supply system automatically shifted to the jurisdiction of the Uttara substation. Consequently, metro services continued smoothly by drawing power solely from Uttara, DMTCL officials explained.
DMTCL sources further noted that even if power from the national grid is entirely cut off, two alternative backup systems are in place to keep the metro running: a 33 kV emergency power supply system and an Emergency Sub System (ESS).
The 33 kV emergency power supply system serves as DMTCL's own dedicated power generation mechanism, designed to be deployed immediately whenever national grid supplies fail.
