A railway official said the Vande Bharat is expected to complete the journey in about 15 hours compared to roughly 20 hours that other trains take
The Vande Bharat Sleeper will operate between KSR Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai.
The Bengaluru-Mumbai corridor is set to get a Vande Bharat Sleeper train, with the Railway Ministry granting approval for the service. This will be the second route for the Vande Bharat Sleeper after the Kolkata-Guwahati service introduced in January.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote a letter to PC Mohan, the Lok Sabha MP for Bangalore Central, about the approval.
“You would be pleased to know that the introduction of new Vande Bharat Sleeper train between KSR Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) has been approved,” the minister said.
The letter, dated April 5, was shared by Mohan on social media platform X. The MP thanked the Union government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vaishnaw on “behalf of Bengaluru and the people of Karnataka” for approving the Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper train enhancing connectivity and public convenience.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper will operate between KSR Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai. Currently, trains take at least 20 hours to cover the journey between two cities—Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Speaking to News18, a railway official said the Vande Bharat is expected to complete the journey in about 15 hours. They also explained that the ministry has given approval for introducing the Sleeper Vande Bharat with operational details yet to be finalised, including the inauguration date.
“The aim is to offer overnight travel between the two cities in the shortest possible time. The exact route and journey completion time will be finalised based on the stoppages on the route,” they said, seeking anonymity.
The approval for the next route came weeks after the first train was flagged off in January between Howrah in West Bengal and Kamakhya in Assam. The Sleeper Vande Bharat is completing the journey in just 14 hours compared to other trains taking up to 20 hours.
These sleeper Vande Bharat trains were developed by BEML. In January, in an official statement, the BEML said it has been entrusted with the design and development of 10 Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets.
On Friday, the Railways announced that the Vande Bharat Sleeper service has achieved over 100 percent occupancy with 1.21 lakh passengers served in the initial three months.
“… strengthening long-distance connectivity, Indian Railways introduced the Vande Bharat Sleeper service in January 2026. In just the first three months of operation, the service carried 1.21 lakh passengers across 119 trips, achieving an occupancy rate of over 100 percent, indicating strong demand and increasing passenger confidence in premium overnight rail travel,” the ministry stated.
In January, the ministry had claimed that the first commercial run of the Vande Bharat Sleeper train between Kamakhya and Howrah had received “an overwhelming response from passengers” with all seats getting booked within a few hours of opening the ticket reservation.
Vande Bharat Sleeper is the third in the Vande Bharat series after Chair Car and Vande Metro.
While Vande Metro is for cities that are located 100 to 300 km apart, Vande Bharat Chair Car is for cities located at a distance of 500 to 800 km. The Sleeper is for cities located at a distance of 1,000 km to 1,300 km.
The chair cars were the first in the series, introduced in February 2019, then Vande Metro, officially named Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, in September 2024, followed by the Sleeper version from January 2026.
For overnight travellers, the Vande Bharat Sleeper offers a familiar Rajdhani-style comfort wrapped in the design and technology of the Vande Bharat, a combination that could redefine how long-distance train journeys are experienced.
Indian Railways also said that there has been a “remarkable surge in passenger patronage on the Vande Bharat Express network”.
During 2025-26, about 3.98 crore passengers traveled on Vande Bharat trains, marking a robust year-on-year growth of nearly 34 percent from 2.97 crore passengers in FY 2024–25.
“This sharp rise highlights the growing preference for fast, comfortable, and modern rail travel among passengers across the country. Since its inception, the Vande Bharat Express has served over 9.1 crore passengers through 1 lakh trips, reflecting widespread public trust and sustained demand,” the ministry stated.
April 11, 2026, 15:03 IST
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