Bhubaneswar: Indian Railways is set to introduce a new sleeper variant of the popular Vande Bharat Express, expanding its premium train offerings.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday gave travellers an peek into the concept by sharing prototype images of the sleeper-edition Vande Bharat, which will be jointly manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, the minister shared the pictures with the caption “Coming soon… early 2024”.
As seen in the pictures, the Vande Bharat sleeper trains will have two and three tier options. The design of the berths is entirely different from those in Rajdhani and other premium trains. These will have a classic wooden design along with more comfortable seats. The coaches also have ambient floor lighting and enhanced top lights.
Vaishnaw, however, did not not specify when the new sleeper Vande Bharat train will start running next year.
Last week, news agency ANI reported, quoting sources, that the newly designed sleeper coaches of the Vande Bharat Express train will be rolled out by February 2024.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be a significant addition to the Indian Railways’ fleet, as it will allow passengers to travel long distances on these high-speed trains overnight.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off nine Vande Bharat trains with a host of new features, including deep wash basins to avoid water from splashing out, incorporated after passengers’ feedback to make the journey more comfortable.
