Advanced train tickets for August 18 went on sale at Kamalapur rail station on Thursday morning. The sale stared at 8 am with two counters reserved only for women.
People jostled to purchase desired tickets to go home and spend Eid Ul Azha with their loved ones.
The never ending lines caused customers to wait in line all night long.
Private service holder, Mansur Ahmed, spent a sleepless night in front of the ticket counter as he stood in line for tickets to Sylhet on Wednesday at midnight, with at least twenty people in front of him.
Hundreds like him waited for tickets all night with the queues getting longer as the night progressed. Imran Ali stood in line on Wednesday at 1 am for Rangpur Express tickets.
He finally got his desired tickets at 9:30 the next morning.
Smiling, he told Bangla Tribune: “It took a lot of patience but I got the tickets; now I can go home.”
Sumaiya Akter, who was standing in line for Chittagong’s Provati Express said: “I have been standing here since morning and don’t know when I will get the tickets.”
Regarding the sale of advanced tickets, station manager, Shitangshu Chakraborty, told reporters that tickets for August 18 have gone for sale since 8 am.
“People are maintaining the lines properly while making their purchase. It is extremely crowded. Although our resources are limited, the railway law enforcing agencies are alert so that no unwanted incidents take place during the advance sale of the tickets.”
To ensure that the trains run smoothly and safely, leave of staff responsible for train operations has been cancelled, he informed.
Like previous years, train tickets have gone for sale ten days in advance.
“Tickets for August 19 will be available from August 10; similarly, tickets for August 21 and 22 will be available on August 11 and 12 respectively.”
Special services will be available on these days from 8am at Dhaka and Chittagong rail station. Each person is allowed to buy four tickets at one time which are non-refundable.
Like always, 65% of the tickets are available at the counter, 25% online and on phones, 5% for VIPs and the remaining 5% have been allocated for railway staff.
All inter-city trains will run every day for five days prior to Eid Ul Azha.