Bangladesh Railway (BR) will begin selling half of the total tickets on Saturday, keeping the rest of the seats empty, following a government order to ensure physical distancing amid rising coronavirus cases.
The authorities will sell 25 per cent of tickets online and the remaining 25 per cent at the counters of the stations.
No standing or platform tickets will be sold while mandatory mask rules will be ensured, Bangladesh Railway said in a notice on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
All ticket quotas, except for authorised emergency quota and pass quota in line with the intercity train manual, have been cancelled.
Intercity trains will provide catering and night-time bedding services to the passengers.
After Bangladesh's Covid-19 caseload more than doubled in the space of a week, the government announced a set of new pandemic restrictions, including a vaccine-certificate requirement for dining in restaurants, starting on Thursday.
It banned all open-air gatherings, including social, political, and religious events. Buses and trains have been ordered to operate at half capacity.