Bangladesh Railway will allow passengers to get e-tickets refunded online from Mar 1 in an effort to reduce chronic hassles for customers.
From that day, the verification of national ID cards or birth certificates or passports will be mandatory for inter-district tickets, Railway Minister Nurul Islam said at a media briefing in Dhaka on Wednesday.
NID cards will help stop the black-market sales of tickets and ticketless travel by passengers, reports bdnews24.com.
“Passengers can easily buy tickets from the counter, online or through the mobile app anytime,” Islam said.
The railway ticketing system was overhauled as part of the government’s aim to build a “Smart Bangladesh”, according to the minister.
People must sign up for the Bangladesh Railway system using NID cards, birth certificates or passports. The authorities will set up “help desks” for passengers.
How to book tickets:
Passengers aged between 12-18 years can buy tickets separately using their parents’ accounts or by creating an account using their birth certificates. In that case, a recipient must carry a copy of the birth certificate.
Foreigners can use their passports for registration.
No one can buy inter-district train tickets without successful verification of their NID cards, passports or birth certificates.
Passengers must travel with copies of their NID cards or birth certificates or passports or any other identification with photos on them.
If the information of identification does not match the tickets, passengers will be charged with travelling without tickets, an offence liable to penalties as per railway law.
