Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan on Wednesday said no passenger will be able to purchase intercity train tickets without registering with their national identity card (NID).
“Although this requirement has been initially introduced only for intercity trains, gradually it will be introduced for all local trains,” he said.
The railways minister made these remarks after handing over PoS (Point of Sales) machines to ticket checkers at the capital's Kamalapur Railway Station after inaugurating the ticket sale process through NID.
The minister said earlier one could easily travel by simply showing a ticket. But according to the new rules, one can no longer travel by simply showing a ticket or with tickets under someone else's name, he added.
“If anyone travels with tickets under someone else's name, it will be deemed as travelling without a ticket and thus penalized,” he said.
With the new system, if anyone wants to cancel their ticket after buying it, they can get a refund through the online payment gateway, the minister said, adding: “Earlier, people had to go to the railway office to cancel the ticket and get their money back. But with the new process, anyone can get their money back while at home.”
The railways minister further noted that the Election Commission server is linked with the server of Bangladesh Railway, which will ensure citizens' data protection.
“There may be many hurdles to implementing a new system, but the effort should not stop,” he said.
The minister also said that the government is trying to prevent black-market ticket sales.
“Earlier, black-market ticket sellers used to buy tickets and sell them at high prices. Now with the new system, only those who purchased tickets will be able to travel; therefore, there will be no opportunity for black-market ticket sales,” the minister remarked.
The railways minister also assured that stations will have arrangements to facilitate the registration process for low-income people travelling by train.
“The registration process will be easy so that no brokers can manipulate them for their gain,” he said.
