Shohoz to manage rail ticketing system from Mar 26

The ride sharing company Shohoz is going to manage the system dedicated to selling railway tickets online and offline from March 26.

It will succeed Computer Network Systems as the government’s contract with the latter, which is currently managing the system, will end on March 20.

After the contract’s expiry, online railway ticket sales will remain suspended between March 21 and March 25.

During this period, travellers will have to physically collect tickets from railway counters across the country while online ticket sales will resume on March 26 through the railway’s computerised system.

“Due to the handover of the system to a new company, online sales of railway tickets will remain suspended between March 21 and March 25,” Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan said at a press conference at the Railway Bhaban in the capital on Monday.

Shohoz would be given five days for preparing its internal system and online ticketing would resume after that, he said.

The minister also said tickets would be sold manually at the railway counters in the interim period and travellers would have to book advance tickets two days before the travel date instead of five.

“Tickets will be available to all as there will be no quota or reserved seats for those five days,” he added.

He said Shohoz had won the contract on February 15 through bidding to manage the system for the next five years. “We hope it will provide a better service during Eid and other holidays.”

Computer Network Systems has been managing the online ticket sale software and network at 77 railway stations since 2007.

The company receives Tk 2.99 per ticket, but Shohoz would take only Tk 0.25, bringing the government more revenues, the minister added.