Surging Demand Overwhelms Railway Ticketing System as Advance Sales Begin
Advance ticket sales for train journeys across Bangladesh on March 27 began at 8:00 AM on Monday, attracting an overwhelming response. Within the first 30 minutes, the Bangladesh Railway's server recorded 150 million hits from ticket seekers attempting to purchase tickets online.
According to Bangladesh Railway data, the total number of seats available on trains departing from Dhaka on March 27—including both the Eastern and Western regions—is 33,199. Nationwide, the total available seats stand at 173,279. On the fourth day of special advance ticket sales, 30,834 tickets were sold across the country within the first half-hour, averaging over 1,000 tickets per minute.
At 8:15 AM, 7,957 tickets were sold for trains departing from Dhaka, while 10,539 tickets were sold nationwide. By 8:30 AM, the numbers surged to 13,353 for Dhaka departures and 17,481 across the country.
Earlier, on Sunday (March 9), a notice issued by Rezaul Karim Siddiqui, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Railways, outlined the details of the advance ticket sales process. The first day of advance sales, Friday (March 14), saw tickets for March 24 journeys on western routes sell out within just nine minutes, with 2 million hits recorded on the website in the first 30 minutes. On Saturday (March 15), the website experienced 73 million hits in the first half-hour after ticket sales began. Similarly, on the third day (Sunday), the railway’s e-ticketing website and mobile app recorded 98 million hits in the first 30 minutes, reflecting the immense demand for train travel during the peak season.
