Bangladesh Railway has begun selling advance tickets for intercity trains ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, scheduled to be observed on June 17. 

The online sale of tickets for June 3 travel commenced at 8:00 am on Saturday (May 24).

According to railway officials, the response was overwhelming, with over 1.14 crore hits recorded on the online ticketing platform within the first 30 minutes. 

All tickets for trains bound for destinations in the western region were sold out by 9:00 am, sources confirmed.

Passengers seeking to travel to the eastern region will be able to purchase their tickets later in the day, with sales set to open at 2:00 pm.

Kamalapur Railway Station Manager Md Shahadat Hossain told reporters, “Today we experienced the highest volume of online traffic since advance ticket sales began. We expect the demand to rise even further in the coming days.”

Despite the massive interest, many prospective passengers were left disappointed due to the limited number of available seats.

Railway sources said a total of 33,315 intercity train seats are available for routes originating from Dhaka. 

Advance ticket sales started on May 21. Tickets for May 31 were sold on the first day, followed by tickets for June 1 on May 22, and for June 2 on May 23.

Tickets for June 4, 5, and 6 will be available on May 25, 26, and 27, respectively.

Under the special Eid arrangement, Bangladesh Railway is offering advance tickets for seven consecutive travel days. 

However, passengers will not be allowed to return tickets once purchased. Each individual can book up to four seats.

SMS/