‘No more train ticket bookings for officials over phone’

Railways Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has said railway officials must not hold back train tickets in advance.

Additionally, any tickets reserved for a specific station but left unsold should be made available at other stations where demand exists, said the adviser at a press conference on Tuesday at Rail Bhaban.

He discussed measures to enhance transparency and accountability in Bangladesh Railway’s route rationalisation and e-ticketing systems.

Fouzul Kabir said railway officials and employees are often responsible for withholding ticket sales, contributing to public inconvenience.

“A committee led by an additional secretary has been formed to address black market ticket sales, and strict action will be taken against those involved,” he said, hoping that the black-market issue will soon be resolved.

The railway’s online ticketing system will undergo changes to increase transparency.

“Today, we reviewed the system, revealing issues such as tickets being unavailable at Kamalapur but accessible at Tejgaon,” he said.

Partner company Shohoz has been instructed to update the system so passengers can view ticket availability across stations. Shohoz has committed to implementing these updates within two to three days.

Speaking on route rationalisation, the adviser said, “We have routes without sufficient passengers and vice versa. We will prioritise services on high-demand routes like Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chattogram, which are popular among expatriates.”

He further said many previous railway projects lacked strategic importance and are under review.

“We will be more cautious in future project planning and will update the public on any excluded projects,” he added.

According to railway sources, approximately 1,25,000 intercity train tickets are available daily, with an additional 80,000 to 90,000 tickets for local, commuter and express trains across the country.