3 New Vande Bharat Chair Cars To Launch This Week, Including Nagpur-Pune; Sleeper Variant Soon
At least three Vande Bharat Chair Cars are expected to be inaugurated on August 10, with one of these connecting Nagpur and Pune, officials aware of the details told News18. The decision on the remaining two routes is still under consideration, a railway ministry official said. The tentative routes are Belgaum-Bengaluru and Katra-Amritsar, as of Wednesday.
The nearly 900 km train ride between Nagpur and Pune will be completed in about 10 hours. Currently, Duronto Express is the fastest train on this route, taking nearly 13 hours. The Vande Bharat will start from Ajni station, about 3 km from Nagpur Railway Station, on the Delhi-Chennai line.
Among existing Vande Bharat services, the Delhi-Varanasi route covers the longest distance of over 750 km, while the Tatanagar-Brahmapur train has the longest travel time at nine hours and 25 minutes.
'Three new trains are most likely to be flagged off on August 10. One of the routes will be Ajni-Pune," an official said. 'For the remaining routes, the final approvals are pending." The ministry has not issued any official details of the trains or routes as of now.
As the Chair Car network expands, Indian Railways is gearing up to launch the much-anticipated Vande Bharat Sleeper variant—the third category after Chair Car and Vande Metro.
Vande Bharat Sleeper Expected Soon: In High Demand Already
Indian Railways is expected to introduce the Vande Bharat Sleeper train soon, with the ministry finalising the route, News18 has learnt. Earlier plans were for an August 10 launch, which is being reconsidered.
In recent weeks, several requests have reached railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's office for sleeper train allocations, including proposals from poll-bound states Bihar and West Bengal.
The Nagpur Division of the central zone submitted a proposal in June for the country's first Vande Bharat Sleeper, but it remains under consideration.
On Wednesday, BJP MP Captain Brijesh Chowta from Dakshina Kannada met Vaishnaw, urging the allocation of the sleeper train on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru route.
'There is huge demand for the Sleeper Vande Bharat, and the ministry will soon finalise the route," an official added.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper offers three classes—AC First Class, AC 2-Tier, and AC 3-Tier—with a total capacity of 1,128 passengers.
Delhi-Patna Route Under Consideration
Among the frontrunner routes is Delhi-Patna, although Indian Railways is yet to make an official announcement.
In 2024 and earlier this year, a special Vande Bharat Chair Car operated on this route during festive seasons, covering nearly 1,000 km in 11 hours and 30 minutes—the longest chair car journey to date.
The first sleeper rake, built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, has already undergone successful trials and was allocated to the northern zone in February, News18 was informed.
Earlier this year, the ministry had announced plans to deliver 10 sleeper trains by December. As of July 31, only one train set had been produced.
These new sets of trains are redefining travel comfort and convenience for millions of passengers across the country, with commuters expecting faster, safer, and more luxurious journeys.
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