Vande Bharat sleeper train ready, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said – PM Modi will flag off this month

New Delhi, January 1. The sleeper version of Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat train set is ready. Announcing this in a press conference here on Thursday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the complete testing and certification of Vande Bharat Sleeper train has been completed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first Vande Bharat sleeper train between Guwahati and Howrah this month.

Complete testing and certification of Vande Bharat Sleeper has been completed and its first route will be from Guwahati to Kolkata. Honorable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Yes, we will flag off the first Vande Bharat Sleeper on this route in the coming few days: Hon’ble Railway Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Yes pic.twitter.com/sTjlnqWj7A

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) January 1, 2026

The first Vande Bharat sleeper train will run on Guwahati-Howrah route.

Ashwini Vaishnav said that Vande Bharat Sleeper train will provide world-class amenities, safety and a modern travel experience to passengers on long distance night journeys. This train will run in the evening in both directions and reach the destination early the next morning. In this 16-coach train, there will be 11 coaches of AC-3, 4 coaches of AC-2 and one coach of AC-1. The train will have a total capacity of 823 passengers. An AC-3 coach can carry 56 passengers, an AC-2 can carry 47 passengers and an AC-1 can carry 24 passengers.

Assamese and Bengali food will be served in the train

Vaishnav said that Assamese food will be served in the train running from Guwahati and Bengali Bhojpa will be served in the train running from Kolkata (Howrah). New local vendors will be contracted for food. In this train, special arrangements have been made for technology based washing and cleaning of blankets, sheets, pillows etc.

AC-3 fare is around Rs 2300

The Railway Minister said that AC-3 fare between Kolkata and Guwahati will be around Rs 2300 (including food), AC-2 fare will be around Rs 3000 and AC-1 fare will be around Rs 3600. He said that the fare of Vande Bharat sleeper will remain stable. In this, a new formula for determining the fare has been decided. The fare per kilometer will be Rs 2.40 in AC-3, Rs 3.10 in AC-2 and Rs 3.80 in AC-1.

He said that the center of gravity is an important technical challenge in the design of a sleeper train because it goes higher in the sleeper coach. For this reason, the design of the sleeper version is more complex than that of the chaircar. A number of tests have been carried out to make boarding the middle berth comfortable.

The ride comfort of Vande Bharat Sleeper will be better than any train in the world.

The Railway Minister claimed that the ride comfort of Vande Bharat Sleeper will be better than any train in the world. He said that modern disinfectant technology has been installed in the train, which will destroy 99.99 percent of viruses and bacteria present in the air.

This facility is also available in Vande Bharat chaircar trains.

He informed that this facility is also available in Vande Bharat chaircar trains. This train will be equipped with ‘Kavach’ security system, emergency talk-back system and other state-of-the-art safety features. The bogies have been prepared with a completely new design. Special facilities have also been provided for disabled people in the train. The Railway Minister said that all the MPs want Vande Bharat train to run in their areas and this train will further strengthen the connectivity between North-East and Eastern India.

It is noteworthy that there was a demand for Vande Bharat sleeper train for a long time, because till now the running Vande Bharat trains did not have sleeper coaches. With the introduction of this new train, long distance travel will become more accessible for common passengers.

,Bullet train operation in the country next year, buy tickets,

Ashwini Vaishnav also informed in the press conference that a new chapter is soon going to be added in the history of Indian Railways, when the country will get its first bullet train on August 15, 2027. Vaishnav said in a joking tone that you should buy the bullet train ticket now, the bullet train will also come next year. He clarified that the government is working seriously to complete the project within the stipulated time frame.