People queue up to buy tickets for travel during Eid-ul Fitr holidays at a bus counter in Gabtoli area of Dhaka city as the bus operators start selling advance tickets on Friday. — Photo: Collected Tickets for train travel on April 17, prior to the Eid-ul-Fitr festivities, went on sale Friday and were swiftly scooped up by enthusiastic travellers via online channels.
The Bangladesh Railway confirmed that the advance tickets sold out in mere minutes, with no remaining inventory for trips bound for northern districts such as Rangpur, Panchagarh, Kurigram, and Rajshahi.
The sales commenced at 8 am on Friday, and exclusively via online platforms. Consequently, the bustling Kamalapur rail station, which typically experiences heavy footfall during advance Eid ticket sales, appeared nearly deserted, with no notable issues with ticketing reported.
Nonetheless, there were some individuals who were unfamiliar with the online ticketing process and were unable to obtain tickets upon arrival at the station, leaving empty-handed.
Unlike previous years, Kamalapur Railway Station witnessed a distinct absence of crowds vying to purchase advanced railway tickets for the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr celebration. In earlier years, passengers were known to spend several hours, and even stay overnight, in line for ticket purchases.
The online ticketing system this year has transformed the scenario completely, and advanced train tickets for the upcoming Eid went on sale on Friday without the need for physical presence.
During a visit by the FE correspondent to Kamalapur station on Friday morning, a serene atmosphere prevailed as there was no rush of passengers, unlike in previous years. The introduction of the online system has facilitated the process, eliminating the need for physical travel to Kamalapur station for ticket purchases.
On the first day of advanced ticket sales, approximately 2.5 million people visited the railway's designated website to secure tickets. The ticket counter at Kamalapur was observed to be deserted.
The sale of advanced tickets commenced on Friday at 8:00 am. On the first day of online sales, within just minutes, approximately 1.2 million people visited the railway website to purchase 25,778 tickets.
An official from Shohoz.com, a private company responsible for online ticket sales, informed FE that there were no reported issues for holidaymakers purchasing tickets on the first day.
He further noted that train tickets were sold out quickly for routes with high demand for April 17 journeys, which was the first day of online ticket sales.
Kamalapur Railway Station Manager, Masud Sarwar, also confirmed that passengers could purchase tickets online from the comfort of their homes this year.
According to Sarwar, tickets for April 18 journeys will be available on April 8, while tickets for April 19 journeys will be available on April 9. Tickets for April 20 journeys will be available on April 10, and tickets for April 21 journeys will be available on April 11.
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