New rules for buying train tickets easy or complicated
Bangladesh Railways has made registration with National Identity Card (NID) mandatory for online and offline booking of intercity train tickets. The railway authorities have announced such measures to prevent black market of tickets, penalize ticketless travel and facilitate fare collection.
The new rules to upgrade the ticketing system are scheduled to come into force from March 1. The old fashioned counter-based ticketing system is still prevalent in Bangladesh Railways.
While the new system has been welcomed by most rail travelers, many passengers find the rules quite complicated and some still don't understand how the new system will work.
In recent times there have been allegations of fake tickets being registered in the names of well-known people including Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The railway authorities hope that these irregularities can be prevented if the national identity card is made mandatory for ticketing.
Pros and cons
With a large population of the country without access to technology, many do not have the skills to register or log in online or offline, questions have also arisen as to how they will register.
Taheda Begum, working as a domestic worker in Dhaka, cannot understand anything about the new rules. He travels by train from Dhaka to Brahmanbaria several times a year. Earlier he used to buy tickets by going to the counter. Now when the subject of NID card registration comes up, he seems to be getting nervous.
He said, 'Tickets used to be done on mobile phones. I have the ID, but I don't have a touch mobile, so we don't understand. You have to buy tickets by paying money at the station. What is the needing for so much trouble?
It is feared that the new rules will make it difficult for many passengers like him to travel by train, causing more harassment and suffering than benefiting them.
Taheda Begum said, "those who do black (black market) should be jailed." This system is our problem. I don't know how to study. Let's keep both, those who understand, I will cut them on mobile, those who don't understand, they will go to the station.'
However, Jobaid Sunny, who is fed up with the black market, is hoping for positive changes through this system. He used the train to travel from Dhaka to Bhairav.
He said, "The rules are good, but it is a matter of seeing how long they are good." We have a digital system, later the software hangs, we have to stand in line for hours. I gave money online, the money was deducted message did not come, run for it. Still digital system is good, but if something like this happens, server is slow, computer is not working, then it is useless. There should also be management inside the train.
Ayesha Akhtar travels on the same route, her only demand is that standing tickets and passengers without tickets should be stopped.
He said, 'I always buy tickets, but I can never sit. Those who do not have tickets are seated. How much will I fight alone? When the train people come, they get them out of their seats, that's all. The peddler gets on the train, the fakir gets on, the goods get on. People jump from the roof while coming down. In short, traveling for girls is unbearable. If tickets can be confirmed for everyone, then these problems will not exist.
Former railway official Mahbub Kabir Milan urged not to spread confusion regarding standing tickets. He has been campaigning for the new rules on his verified Facebook ID.
Regarding the standing ticket of the train, he wrote in his Facebook post, "According to the Railway Act, it is completely illegal to give standing tickets in inter-city or non-stop trains." Punishable offence. According to the Act of 1890, whoever issues a standing ticket has to pay a fine. So there is not or will not be any online arrangement of a totally illegal job. There is no opportunity to reduce the rent of illegal work.
Still, he questioned how a government agency is doing this illegal work.
According to him, this is an unannounced way of increasing railway revenue by issuing standing tickets as the railways probably do not have the capacity to control ticketless passengers or illegal passengers. But since passenger pressure is high, he suggested attaching two standing coaches in every intercity train.
Mahbub Kabir Milan , "Since our new Train coaches are being procured, standing or up grated coaches can be brought from abroad or we have the ability to convert them here."
What will change in ticketing?
It is said to include three new services in the Bangladesh Railway ticketing system from March. They are ticketing system of railway intercity trains through national identity card verification, installation of point of sale (POS) machines in ticket checking system and online refund of ticket price purchased through online. That is, if the ticket is returned, the money will be refunded online.
This system was introduced earlier to eliminate chaos in railway tickets. Initially purchase of first class tickets in intercity trains by showing NID was made mandatory. But at that time it took a long time with server complications and long queues were formed at the stations and the passengers had to suffer a lot.
As part of a pilot project earlier this year, this system was introduced in 15 percent of Sonar Bangla train tickets. However, the new rules will be applicable for 100% ticketing from March. At the same time, passengers check their tickets at the POS machine while on the train.
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