Reselling online train tickets difficult to prevent: Minister

Road, Rail and Shipping Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam has said preventing people from buying train tickets online and reselling them at higher prices is difficult, adding that efforts are underway to identify those involved and introduce new measures in the ticketing software to curb black marketing.

He made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka on Monday night during the inauguration of the extension of the Mahanagar Express route to Cox’s Bazar.

The minister said heavy online traffic creates pressure on the ticketing system, with millions of people attempting to buy tickets simultaneously.

During Eid, around 3.6 million to 3.7 million people try to purchase tickets each day against a supply of 32,000 tickets, he said. Each person can buy a maximum of four tickets, while groups of people sometimes purchase large numbers of tickets and later resell them at higher prices.

Sheikh Robiul said the online system operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Investigations into complaints had not found evidence of irregularities, he said, adding that the system was not entirely free of flaws and efforts were underway to address them gradually.

On the route extension, the minister said the initiative would increase the number of train pairs serving Cox’s Bazar to three, from the two pairs previously operating on the Dhaka-Chattogram route. There are plans to gradually increase the number to seven pairs.

He said efforts were also underway to increase the number of coaches to ease pressure on passengers travelling from Chattogram.

Speaking about railway development, the minister said plans were underway to modernise the railway system, with new locomotives and coaches arriving and various projects in progress. A policy decision has also been made to introduce train services between Narayanganj and Joydebpur, he added.

On railway safety, he said the lack of controlled access at stations had led to unrestricted movement and unwanted incidents. He stressed the need to improve passenger safety and raise public awareness to prevent stone-throwing at trains.

Throwing stones at moving trains and injuring passengers is a crime, he said, adding that such incidents must be addressed through public awareness and legal action.

State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid, Railway Secretary Md Fahimul Islam, Bangladesh Railway Director General Md Afzal Hossain and other senior officials attended the programme.