Railway ticket management goes to Shohoz
Due to the change in the third party, the online sale of train tickets will remain suspended from 21 March to 25 March
Shohoz.com will manage the network used for selling railway tickets online and offline from 26 March as the government contract with the company that currently manages the system will end soon.
Due to the change in the third party that handles the computer network, online sales of train tickets will remain suspended from 21 March to 25 March across the country, said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan at a press conference at the Railway Bhaban in Dhaka on Monday.
Click here >> Step-by-step guide to book train tickets online
Shohoz.com won the contract to manage the system through a tender process, and the company is expected to provide a better service during the Eid and other holiday seasons, said the minister.
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"Shohoz will take five days to set up its internal system and online ticketing will resume on 26 March. During that period, tickets will be sold manually at the counters, and advance tickets can be booked two days before the travel date instead of five days," said the minister.
Besides, all tickets will be open as there will be no quota or reserved seats for those five days.
Computer Networking System (CNS) Limited, an ICT service provider, has been managing the software and network used for selling train tickets online and at 77 stations since 2007 and their contract will end on 20 March this year.
So, a new tender was issued and Shohoz.com, owned and operated by Shohoz Limited, won it. A contract was inked in this regard on 15 February, said the railways minister.
Shohoz will provide the service for the next five years.
About the benefit of appointing Shohoz, the railway minister said earlier the CNS received Tk2.99 per ticket, but Shohoz.com will take only Tk0.25 per ticket. So, the government will earn more revenue.
However, the public will not get any respite as the Tk20 charge for purchasing tickets online will remain the same.
According to the contract, Shohoz will continue to work through the existing server, owned by the Bangladesh Railway, for the next 18 months. The ticketing system will be changed and a new server will be built if it seems necessary after that period.
