App fails to provide train tickets for 3rd straight day
STAFF REPORTER, Dhaka
Despite guarantees of hassle-free sale of train tickets during Eid-ul-Fitr, the Rail Sheba app failed for the third consecutive day yesterday (Friday). However, the authorities said the server was little bit down, but the app completed selling 50 per cent of the days quota, that is 13,350 tickets. On the other hand, as the app failed to give proper service, ticket seekers gathered at the stations in huge numbers, especially at Kamalapur and Airport railway stations.
Hundreds of people had to wait in long queues for hours before they could buy tickets. Some railway officials at Airport station complained that not only was the server of Rail Sheba app down, but the main server that is used for selling tickets was
also down. Sale of tickets remained suspended yesterday for some time at the stations due to the technical glitch in the server of the firm responsible for the stations computer networking system, causing immense suffering to passengers.
Kamalapur station manager Sitangshu Chakrabarty told The Independent that the crowd is large as it was a holiday (Friday). The server was down for a while because of the huge pressure. However, we are optimistic that the problem will not recur over the next few days, he said.
A large crowd was seen at the scene, standing in long queues and collecting tickets. After eating sehari, many people came to the station as they failed to buy their tickets from the app.
The initiative of selling tickets through the app and at five stations is great. But we are not getting the service. Had the authorities checked the app before launching it, there would have been less suffering now, said one of them.
Zohra, an employee of a private company, finally got tickets for Rajshahi around 2:30pm. The government talks about digitisation and massive development of the country. Then why do we still have to wait about eight hours for a ticket for a nearly five-hour journey? she said.
He said people would not have suffered at the stations if the online ticketing system worked properly. I got the tickets around 11:00am after waiting for nearly 12 hours. I would not have to waste my valuable time if I could buy tickets online, he added.
However, the railway authorities claimed that the problems were temporary as the online ticketing system started working normally. Munir-Uz-Zaman Chowdhury, managing director of Computer Network Systems (CNS), which provides online ticketing service on behalf of the railway, said if more than 1 lakh people try to log on to a server simultaneously, most of them would not be successful. Yesterday, tickets for June 2 was being sold. Tickets for June 3 and 4 will be available today and the next day, respectively.
Besides, return tickets for June 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be available on May 29, 30, 31, June 1 and 2, respectively, according to the Bangladesh Railway.
Advance tickets of all intercity trains on the west routes via Jamuna Bridge are being sold from Kamalapur station, tickets of trains on the Chattogram and Noakhali routes from Airport station, tickets of trains on the Mymensingh and Jamalpur routes from Tejgaon station, tickets for Netrokona-bound Mohanganj Express and Haor Express from Banani station, and tickets for Sylhet and Kishoreganj-bound trains are being sold from Phulbaria.
IK
