Bangladesh Railway (BR) authority would start selling advance train tickets ahead of the Eid festival from July 29 (Monday next). A BR announcement also said that return tickets will be available between August 5 and 9. Eight pairs of special trains will run on different routes on the occasion of the Eid festival. “Half of the total tickets will be accessible and can be purchased online and the rest will be sold from booths located at five train stations in the capital,” said Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan at a press conference on Tuesday (July 23).
These stations are Kamalapur, Airport, Banani and Tejgaon railway stations and Fulbaria in the capital. The advance tickets of August 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be available on July 29, 30, 31 and August 1 and 2 respectively. The railway minister said, “It has been decided to sell advance tickets from five places for the convenience of the passengers. From 9 am to 5 pm, tickets will be on sale every day. Tickets will be sold via mobile app starting at 7 am.”
A single passenger will not be able to collect more than four tickets at a time and tickets sold in advance will not be refunded. Passengers have to collect their tickets by showing their national identity (NID) card. In Bangladesh Eid-ul-Azha, will be celebrated on August 12, subject to the appearance of the moon. Besides, the return tickets for the journey of August 14 will be available on August 5 and for August 15 on August 6, August 16 on August 7, August 17 on August 8 and for August 18 on August 9.
The sale of tickets will begin at 8 am and each passenger will be able to buy a maximum of four tickets at a time. The Minister later concluded saying that the Maitri Express train will remain shut between Dhaka and Kolkata-Dhaka on August 11 and 14. Salon coach services for VIPs will not be attached to the train for 10 days before Eid and 10 days after Eid.
Railway Ministry Secretary Mofazzel Hossain, Shamsuzzaman, Director General of Railway, and additional director general Mia Jahan were also present at the press conference at the Railway Bhaban.
