Trains carrying first Eid holidaymakers set off

Passengers have to pass three levels of inspection to prevent the sales of tickets on the black market

Several make-shift entrances made of bamboo have been installed at the Kamalapur Railway Station ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

Passengers are entering the platforms through the gates after scanning their ticket on the machines with the help of the Travelling Ticket Examiners stationed next to them.

Train journeys for Eid began on Wednesday after holidaymakers purchased their advance train tickets from online websites this year.

Homebound passengers have to pass through three levels of inspection to prevent the sale of tickets on the black market.

On Wednesday morning, the platforms were not particularly crowded. However, foot traffic increased by afternoon as more passengers arrived at Kamalapur.

AHM Sajjadul, an officer of the station’s ticket inspection team, told bdnews24.com: “Many people are still coming to the platforms without their train tickets. A lot of them are showing up with someone else’s ticket. We have imposed a fine in such cases. Everything is running smoothly at the station.”

According to Mahbubur Rahman Mahin, a passenger for a Rajshahi-bound train, online ticket sales have alleviated the woes of train journeys this year.

“I hope the railways can keep functioning in this orderly manner going forward,” he added.

Despite the new rules and regulations, some trains were still late arriving at the platform.

The Rajshahi-bound Silk City Express, which was scheduled to leave Dhaka at 2:40pm, had not arrived at the station even as of 2:45pm.

The advance sales of return tickets were also made available to the public for Apr 13 trips on Wednesday morning.

Travellers on Western routes were able to purchase the tickets from the Bangladesh Railway website, the railway Sheba app and Shohoz.com from 8am.

Return tickets for eastern routes went live on the online platforms at 2pm.

Tickets for Apr 14 trips will be sold on Apr 6, and Apr 15 trips on Apr 5.

This year, the Bangladesh Railway has set the train schedule under the assumption that Eid will fall on Apr 11. Advance ticket sales began on Mar 24 and ended on Mar 30.

According to the Bangladesh Railway authorities, tickets will also be sold for Apr 10-12, depending on the sighting of the moon.

As many as 33,500 inter-city train tickets will be sold ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

In addition, eight pairs of special trains will also operate on different routes nationwide for Eid.