Vande Bharat Sleeper train to hit tracks by December end with 16 modern coaches for 827 passengers

Chennai: The highly anticipated Vande Bharat Sleeper train is set to be inaugurated by the end of December, according to railway officials. The first service will operate on the Delhi–Patna route, providing a night-time connection between the two cities.

The Vande Bharat Sleeper will feature modern amenities similar to Tejas and Rajdhani trains. The 16 coaches required for the service have been manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), Bengaluru. Two train sets, each with 16 coaches, have been handed over to Indian Railways. Trial runs on the Delhi–Patna route are scheduled to begin from Friday.

The trial will also be conducted in the presence of the Railway Safety Commissioner. Once successful, the service is expected to commence by the end of December.
The train will accommodate 827 passengers across 16 coaches:

• 11 Third AC coaches with 611 berths
• 4 Second AC coaches with 188 berths
• 1 First AC coach with 24 berths

The coaches will be equipped with automatic doors, CCTV cameras, individual berth lighting and collision-prevention partitions. The train can travel at a maximum speed of 160–180 km/h.

The service will operate six days a week. As more Vande Bharat Sleeper trains are delivered by BEML, services are expected on the Mumbai–Patna and Bengaluru–Patna routes. The goal is to provide comfortable overnight journeys on long-distance routes.

The original Vande Bharat daytime trains were extremely popular among passengers, which led Indian Railways to decide on the production of Vande Bharat Sleeper coaches in 2022.