New Delhi: The first Vande Bharat sleeper train is likely to start very soon. This state-of-the-art train equipped with advanced facilities will make long distance travel comfortable and easy. The Railway Ministry had earlier said that earlier this year, the semi high-speed train has been tested by the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) for a distance of 540 km in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section.
According to the Railways, the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) completed the manufacture of India’s first Vande Bharat sleeper train set on December 17 last year. This train will have modern facilities for passengers like three classes – AC First, AC Second and AC Third Class, with a capacity of 1128 passengers. It will also have facilities of crash buffers, deformation tubes, fire barrier walls, automatic doors, padded berths and onboard Wi-Fi.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently told the Rajya Sabha, “Vande Bharat sleeper trains have been planned for long and medium distance journeys. The design of the trains to be manufactured by Indian Railways has been finalised.” The Railway Minister had said that the Vande Bharat sleeper train can be launched very soon – in September.
Production of 50 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes started
Currently 10 Vande Bharat sleeper trains are being manufactured. The work of additional production of 50 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes has also been started by ICF. Apart from this, the contract for manufacturing 200 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes has also been given to technology partners, out of which 120 trains with 16 coaches are to be supplied. This is as per the original contract agreement.
According to the government, the design and manufacture of coaches including Vande Bharat is a continuous process in Indian Railways and is done based on operational and traffic requirements.
Meanwhile, the Railway Ministry has decided to increase the number of coaches of Vande Bharat Express trains on passenger-heavy routes. Vande Bharat, which has become popular across the country due to its modern technology, comfortable travel and punctuality, will now serve passengers with more capacity.
According to the Railways, as per the decision taken based on the review of the financial year 2025-26 and the data of travel load (occupancy), three Vande Bharat trains with 16 coaches will be converted into 20 coaches. Along with this, 4 Vande Bharat trains with 8 coaches will be upgraded to 16 coaches. After this change, a total of three 20-coach Vande Bharat trains will be available.
