Facilities like plane in the train, fare same as Rajdhani… See the first glimpse of Vande Bharat Sleeper Train

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Sunday unveiled the prototype of the much-awaited Vande Bharat sleeper coach at the BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) facility in Bengaluru. The coach will undergo 10 days of rigorous trials before hitting the tracks for further testing. Ashwini Vaishnav said, ‘After the Vande Bharat chair car, we were working on the Vande Bharat sleeper coach. Its construction has now been completed. This train will leave the BEML facility today for trial and testing.’

The Railway Minister inspected the new sleeper coach and interacted with the railway staff who designed and built it. He highlighted the main differences between the new sleeper coaches and the existing coaches, especially in terms of speed, safety and passenger amenities. Vaishnav announced that the Vande Bharat Sleeper train is expected to be operational for passengers within the next three months. He said that once the prototype trial is completed, mass production of Vande Bharat Sleeper will begin. There is a plan to run two to three trains every month after the initial one and a half year of production.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, ‘We are constantly improving the design of Vande Bharat train. We are learning from experience and making it better. The same method will be adopted for Vande Bharat Metro.’ The sleeper version of Vande Bharat has been designed for an overnight journey of 800 to 1,200 km. Each Vande Bharat sleeper train will have 16 coaches, including 11 AC three-tier (611 berths), four AC two-tier (188 berths) and one AC first class coach (24 berths). There will be a total of 823 berths in a train. This trainset will be capable of running at a speed of 160 km per hour, which will have modern safety features.

Apart from safety features, the sleeper version of Vande Bharat is equipped with world-class facilities. It has integrated reading lights with USB charging points, public announcement and visual information system, modular pantry and special berths and toilets for Divyang passengers. The First AC coach will also have the facility of hot water shower, which will increase the convenience of passengers on long journeys. Ashwini Vaishnav said, ‘This train will be for the middle class, whose fare will be equal to Rajdhani Express.’ He said that the aim of Vande Bharat sleeper trains is to provide a comfortable and economical travel experience.

The prototype of Vande Bharat Sleeper is much better than Rajdhani Express and other models. Due to faster acceleration and deceleration (less time taken to gain speed and stop), the average speed of the sleeper version of Vande Bharat will be better than Rajdhani Express. Once the operation starts, the train is expected to run at an average speed of 160 kmph, while the trial speed will be 180 kmph. The Vande Bharat Sleeper train will have GFRP panels, sensor-based interiors, automatic doors, ergonomically designed toilets, communication room and a large luggage room for keeping luggage.