Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India’s first-ever high-speed Vande Bharat Sleeper train today at the Malda Town railway station in West Bengal. The train will run between Howrah in West Bengal and Kamakhya (Guwahati) in Assam, cutting travel time on this busy corridor by an estimated three hours compared to the Saraighat Express.
The 16-coach fully air-conditioned sleeper set has one First AC, four AC 2-tier and eleven AC 3-tier coaches, with a total capacity of about 823 passengers.
Trial runs, including high-speed tests up to 180kmph and long-distance performance trials, were successfully completed over the past year, clearing the way for commercial operations.
Indian Railways has been betting big on its indigenously built Vande Bharat trains to modernise inter-city and now overnight travel across the country. With 164 Vande Bharat services operational by December 2025 and the first Vande Bharat Sleeper rolling out on Saturday, the Railways is positioning this platform as the new face of fast, comfortable train travel in India.
Vande Bharat is India’s first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed trainset, created to cut journey times and offer a more comfortable ride on key routes.
Unlike traditional locomotive-hauled trains, it is a self-propelled trainset with modern features such as automatic plug doors, GPS-based passenger information systems, onboard infotainment, bio-vacuum toilets and Divyangjan-friendly lavatories.
The trains are built at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai with about 90 per cent localisation, adding to the Make in India push in rolling stock manufacturing. They also use regenerative braking and energy-efficient systems that reduce power consumption and operating costs.
Safety and comfort
All Vande Bharat variants are equipped or designed to be fitted with the latest version of KAVACH, India’s indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system that can automatically apply brakes to prevent collisions and overspeeding. Coaches feature CCTV cameras, emergency talk-back units, and sealed vestibules for safer and smoother journeys.
Ride comfort is enhanced through semi-permanent couplers and improved suspension, while upgraded air-conditioning and UV-C-based disinfection systems aim to provide a cleaner onboard environment.
Overnight travel upgrade and 2047 vision
The biggest change with the introduction of the Vande Bharat Sleeper is bringing these technologies to long-distance overnight travel.
Looking ahead, Indian Railways says it envisions scaling the Vande Bharat fleet to about 800 trainsets by 2030 and nearly 4,500 by 2047, subject to infrastructure and manufacturing readiness.
Future Vande Bharat 4.0 trains are planned with even higher performance, next-generation KAVACH and potential deployment on dedicated high-speed corridors. As it happens, expect more high-speed Vande Bharat sleepers rolling out in the near future.