Bangladesh Railway has completed a major technical upgrade to its official e-ticketing platform at eticket.railway.gov.bd, effective from March 1, 2026. The upgrade addresses long-standing complaints about slow loading times, payment failures, and system crashes during peak booking periods such as Eid and Pohela Boishakh holidays. The new system has been developed in collaboration with a leading technology firm and runs on cloud infrastructure capable of handling up to 500,000 simultaneous users.
Among the most significant new features is the integration of popular mobile financial services including bKash and Nagad as direct payment options alongside existing bank card and internet banking methods. This is expected to dramatically increase accessibility, as millions of Bangladeshi travelers use mobile wallets as their primary payment method. Additionally, the upgraded platform now offers an interactive seat map selection feature, allowing passengers to visually choose their preferred seat position within the coach rather than being assigned a random seat number.
Other improvements include real-time seat availability indicators that update every 30 seconds during the booking process, a streamlined checkout flow that reduces the number of steps from seven to three, and an improved mobile-responsive design for smartphone users. The system also introduces automatic waitlist management, where passengers can join a waitlist if their preferred class is sold out and receive instant notification when seats become available due to cancellations. Bangladesh Railway expects the upgrade to reduce booking complaints by over 60% and increase online ticket sales to 45% of total ticket revenue by the end of 2026.