Bangladesh Railway will introduce a ticket reservation system by SMS from mobile phones, the top railway official said on monday.

Director general Belayet Hossain told bdnews24.com that passengers would be able to book tickets of all 46 inter-city trains, operating from Dhaka and Chittagong, by SMS on GrameenPhone and Banglalink services.

His department has sent a proposal to the ministry of communications for final approval, he said.

"We have already taken necessary preparations for the SMS service through our software operator, Computer Network Systems, which maintains the railway's computerised ticketing system.

"The proposal is now at the ministry (of communications) for approval.

"If the ministry allows us, we will introduce the system as soon as possible," Hossain told bdnews24.com at his office.

The rail chief said they might require the finance ministry's final permission to launch the service.

An additional director general TA Chowdhury told bdnews24.com that passengers would send a message to a particular number, typing the name of the train and the destination.

They would then receive a reply on booking availability.

"If the passenger has enough credit on their mobile phone accounts, they will get a confirmation message along with a serial number of the ticket," said Chowdhury.

"The passenger will then collect the tickets from the station counter showing the confirmation message and the serial number," he said.

He said the programme was primarily planned for Dhaka and Chittagong.

"Around 900 tickets, or 20 percent of all tickets, of the 46 inter-city trains will be kept open for booking by SMS.

"If successful, the programme will be expanded to across the country," he said.

Quazi Asadullah, another additional director general, told bdnews24.com that if a passenger wanted to go to Sylhet or Dinajpur from Dhaka, he/she would be able to book by SMS.

But, they would not initially get the service if they wanted to travel from Sylhet to Dhaka or Dinajpur to Dhaka, he said.

"We have already completed designing the software, and the railway has given us clearance to go ahead with it," said Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, managing director of CNS.

"If the ministry allows us, the service will be launched within a month or two," he told bdnews24.com.

Muniruzzaman said prospective passengers can already get information on the names and schedules of trains by dialling 1313 on Banglalink.

"By dialling 1313, they can even know how many seats are vacant in each of the trains," he said.

"A similar service will be offered by dialling the same number from GrameenPhone from early April".

Source: bdnews24.com

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Diwan Rashidul Hassan  - Develop Bangladesh Railway |2009-09-01 10:22:16 Government should start to reform Bangladesh Railway. Think about income generation of Bangladesh railway through regular selling of advance tickets for long journey. Immediately introduce Super fast Trains weekly 5 days from Chapai nawabgaunj-Chittagong via Dhaka and Mymensingh. Dinajpur -Chittagong via Dhaka and mymensingh, Khulna-Chittagong via Dhaka Mymensingh. Sylhet-Chapai-Nawabgaunj-Khulna-Sylhet . We have seen Indian Railway how they developed railway for the common men / passengers. Prices of essential will come down if Bangladesh Trains run on time and smoothly. Because BUS-TRUCK owners collects excessive fares from the common passengers. 1   1

Anonymous |2009-09-07 17:35:21 Think About the Development of Biman and Bangladesh Railway 2   0

Razzaqul Hyder  - Individual |2009-11-11 22:43:02 Ticketing through SMS will be the unique step towards stopping irregularities. But I think all the mobile operators should have the facility. There should be time limit for picking up the ticket also. If the person fails to comply the direction the person on the que can get the ticket 2   3

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