Train Ticket Buyers Face Online Glitches as Sales for March 17 Open

Following heavy online traffic the previous day, ticket sales for train seats scheduled for March 17 began online at 8:00 am on Saturday, March 7.

According to the schedule, ticket sales for all intercity trains in the western region of Bangladesh Railway started in the morning. Meanwhile, advance ticket sales for all intercity trains in the eastern region are scheduled to begin from 2:00 pm.

However, complaints have emerged since the morning from passengers who failed to secure tickets despite repeated attempts. Although the server appears to be functioning, many users reported that they were unable to obtain tickets even after trying multiple times. Some users also complained that tickets appear available online but disappear after being selected, preventing the system from confirming the booking. When the page is refreshed, the tickets appear again.

Screen-recorded videos of such incidents have come into the possession of DigiBangla.

Meanwhile, instructions on the railway ticketing website state that if a user sends 10 or more requests to the same URL within one minute, the user will be temporarily blocked for five minutes. Similarly, if a user attempts seat selection three or more times within 15 minutes, the seat selection option will be temporarily disabled for one hour.

Under such circumstances, many customers are reportedly hesitant to repeatedly attempt ticket purchases, fearing they may be blocked by the system.

When contacted for comment, Shakil Ahmed, Director of Shohoz.com, the joint venture company responsible for online railway ticket sales, ended the call after saying he was in a meeting upon learning the caller’s identity.

DBTech/IHI/EK/OR