Railway Website Records 13 Million Hits in 30 Minutes for Eid Advance Tickets
Advance train tickets for March 17 ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr were opened for sale from 8:00 am on Saturday, March 7. Within just 30 minutes, from 8:00 am to 8:30 am, the railway ticketing website and mobile app received nearly 13 million hits from users attempting to purchase tickets for trains in the western region.
According to railway sources, a total of 31,255 seats are available on trains departing Dhaka to various destinations on March 17. Of these, tickets for 14,686 seats on 20 western-region trains departing from Dhaka had already been sold by 10:30 am.
Around 10:00 am on Saturday, the railway ticketing website showed that no seats were available on trains operating on the Dhaka–Rajshahi, Dhaka–Panchagarh, Dhaka–Chilahati, Dhaka–Benapole, Dhaka–Dinajpur, Dhaka–Rangpur, Dhaka–Kurigram, and Dhaka–Khulna routes.
Bangladesh Railway officials said that ticket demand today has been the highest compared to the previous few days. As a result, a massive number of passengers attempted to buy tickets simultaneously in the morning, creating significant pressure on the website and mobile app. Officials believe that ticket demand will remain highest today and tomorrow.
Earlier, on Friday, March 6, tickets for March 16 went on sale at 8:00 am, and within just 30 minutes, the railway website and app recorded more than 10 million hits. Between 8:00 am and 8:30 am, users made 10.5 million attempts to secure tickets for western-region trains.
According to railway authorities, advance tickets for seven days ahead of Eid are being sold under a special arrangement. Under this schedule, tickets for March 17 are being sold on March 7, tickets for March 18 on March 8, and tickets for March 19 on March 9.
Tickets for March 20, 21, and 22 will be sold depending on the sighting of the moon.
At the request of passengers, 25 percent standing tickets in non-AC coaches will be available for purchase from the originating station before departure.
DBTech/DHE/MUM/OR
