More seats, more routes: Railways plans 50 new Vande Bharat sleepers

New Delhi: Indian Railways is set to expand its Vande Bharat Sleeper network with 50 new trainsets, each comprising 24 coaches, NDTV reported.

The new trainsets will be manufactured at Chennai's Integral Coach Factory (ICF), with production drawings for the indigenous 24-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper completed.

The upcoming 24-coach trains will be significantly larger than the 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper train currently in operation. The increased coach composition is expected to allow each train to carry around 1.5 times the number of passengers accommodated by the existing 16-coach sleeper service.

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The expansion comes as the Railways seeks to meet growing demand for sleeper services, particularly on overnight and long-distance journeys. While Vande Bharat services have largely operated as daytime chair-car trains, the introduction of sleeper variants is aimed at providing faster premium rail connectivity for longer journeys.

The additional capacity is also expected to enable the Railways to deploy Vande Bharat Sleeper services on more routes across the country.

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Kerala Vande Bharat service gets capacity boost ahead of Onam

In Kerala, the Ernakulam-KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express has been upgraded from an eight-coach to a 16-coach rake, doubling its seating capacity to 1,128.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi flagged off the upgraded service at Ernakulam Junction on August 17, ahead of the Onam travel season. He thanked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for approving the capacity increase on the busy route.

The train previously accommodated 530 passengers. The expansion will add significantly more seats for passengers travelling between Ernakulam and Bengaluru.