Nearly 4 crore passengers travelled on Vande Bharat trains in FY26. Now, Indian Railways is preparing larger 24-coach sleeper trains as it doubles down on premium rail travel.
Vande Bharat is becoming an increasingly important part of Indian Railways' premium passenger strategy, with rising ridership, profitable AC categories and a planned 24-coach sleeper version pointing to a major expansion.
The Vande Bharat network carried around 3.98 crore passengers in FY26, up 34% from 2.97 crore in FY25. Since its launch in 2019, the network has carried more than 9.1 crore passengers across over one lakh completed trips through March 2026.
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The expansion also has a financial rationale. In FY25, AC 3-tier generated a profit of Rs 3,645.44 crore, while AC Chair Car recorded a profit of Rs 376.77 crore. Most other passenger categories continued to report losses.
This does not mean Vande Bharat itself has a standalone profit figure in the data. However, its strong presence in premium AC travel places it within passenger segments that have demonstrated stronger financial performance.
Sleeper trains open another market
The Vande Bharat strategy is moving beyond daytime Chair Car services. The sleeper version, launched in January 2026, carried about 1.21 lakh passengers across 119 trips during its first three months, with reported occupancy above 100% during that period.
The sleeper trains are designed for overnight travel and offer AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier and First AC accommodation.
The 24-coach Vande Bharat
Indian Railways is preparing a larger 24-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper, up from the 16-coach configuration used for the initial sleeper trains.
The proposed train will carry around 1,224 passengers and include:
- 17 AC 3-tier coaches
- 5 AC 2-tier coaches
- 1 AC First Class coach
- 1 pantry car
The Integral Coach Factory in Chennai is expected to manufacture 50 such trainsets.
Why the extra coaches matter
The larger configuration could allow Railways to add hundreds of seats on high-demand overnight routes without necessarily introducing another service.
The trains are planned to include modern passenger facilities, CCTV surveillance, charging points, reading lights, improved luggage arrangements, bio-vacuum toilets and Kavach, India's automatic train protection system.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper is designed for speeds of up to 160 kmph, although actual passenger speeds will depend on track conditions, signalling, curves, traffic and other route restrictions.
Vande Bharat vs Rajdhani
The sleeper version also places Vande Bharat more directly alongside established premium overnight services such as Rajdhani Express.
Its combination of AC sleeper accommodation, modern amenities, faster acceleration and higher planned speeds is intended to strengthen the premium overnight rail offering.
The expansion shows that Indian Railways is not only adding more Vande Bharat services but also increasing their capacity. With nearly four crore passengers using the network in FY26 and premium AC categories showing stronger financial performance, Railways has a clear incentive to target passengers willing to pay more for speed and comfort.
The 24-coach sleeper train could therefore become an important next step in expanding premium long-distance rail travel while putting more capacity on India's busiest routes.
Published: 17 Aug 2026, 01:15 pm IST
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