•Passengers complain about not being able to get train tickets online
•1,187 attempts being made for each ticket
Passengers have started crowding ticket counters at Kamalapur railway station to buy advance train tickets for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, as most of them were unable to buy the tickets online.
The advance tickets are getting sold out within a few minutes, with an average of 1,187 attempts being made for each ticket.
Railway station authorities said there is no other option but to buy tickets online as ticket sales are completely online to prevent sales on the black market. The number of seats is far less than the number of ticket seekers.
On Monday morning, the advance ticket sales continued like the previous day. Initially, advance tickets were sold for trains in the western region (Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Khulna) of the railways. Advance ticket sales for the eastern region (Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet divisions) started at 2pm.
According to station sources, 31,529 tickets were allocated for intercity trains leaving Dhaka. At the end of the day, 29,233 tons had been sold.
A total 159,095 tickets were allocated for trains across the country. About 67,000 tickets were sold.
According to Sohoj.com, between 8am and 8:30am, there were 19 million hits online. Between 2pm and 2:30pm, there were 11 million hits.
Farida Rahman, a resident of Khulna district who came to the railway station, said: "I will celebrate Eid with my son in our hometown of Khulna. In the past, we used to buy our tickets from the station, but for the last two years, we've been trying to buy them online instead. However, despite trying for the last two days, the tickets are already sold out. It's already noon, and I'm wondering who managed to buy the tickets on the website."
At this time, another passenger who came to buy tickets said that the tickets were being sold out within minutes, and the situation will worsen if the number of tickets is not increased.
Meanwhile, an official who requested anonymity said that there are fewer seats than ticket seekers, so this issue needs to be addressed.
Station master Masud Sarwar said: "Black marketers cannot sell tickets online. They are publishing the list with the names of those who are buying tickets. Moreover, if anyone has any complaints, they must report it on the website. Action will be taken accordingly."
Kamalapur Railway Master Mohammad Anwar Hossain said: "On the occasion of Eid-ul Azha, all types of advance tickets are being sold online. Many people are crowding the counters as they are unable to buy tickets online. Their purpose is to sell all the tickets for North Bengal, East and West region for Eid journey online. At the counter, there are no tickets. 100% tickets are being given online to prevent black market sales. However, 25% seats of non-AC coaches will be available from the station before the start of the journey."
According to the Railways' action plan, seats for June 14 will go on sale on June 4; seats for June 15 will be available on June 5; and seats for June 16 will be sold starting June 6.
A passenger can collect a maximum of four tickets online.
Return tickets will be sold from June 10.
The Business World
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