Advance Train Tickets Vanish in an Hour; Majority Fail to Secure Seats
Representational image.
Advance tickets for intercity trains for the upcoming Holy Eid-ul-Adha were nearly exhausted within an hour of going on sale, according to railway authorities. This year, 100% of advance Eid tickets are being sold online.
Earlier, the sale of advance tickets for the railway’s Western Zone (Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Khulna divisions) began at 8:00 AM. Those purchasing tickets today will be traveling on May 23.
Railway authorities reported that there were 15,266 designated seats available for today. Within the first 15 minutes of the sale, more than 12,500 tickets were sold. By 9:00 AM, 15,043 tickets had been purchased.
On May 23, a total of 43 intercity trains will depart from Dhaka, 20 of which are bound for the Western Zone.
The sale of tickets for the Eastern Zone (Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, and Mymensingh divisions) commenced at 2:00 PM.
Railway officials stated that the website is receiving a massive number of hits for Eastern Zone tickets as well. Furthermore, there is consistently high demand for trains heading to North Bengal. Demand is particularly high for AC compartments during the Eid journey. Consequently, a large number of people attempt to buy tickets simultaneously. Due to differences of less than a second, one person manages to secure a ticket while others fail.
The railway had previously set a schedule for the sale of tickets to celebrate Eid-ul-Adha. According to the schedule, tickets for travel on May 23 are being sold on May 13. Similarly, tickets for May 24, 25, 26, and 27 will be available on May 14, 15, 16, and 17, respectively.
The sale of return journey tickets after Eid will begin on May 21.
