Lok Sabha Question No. 2053 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Vande Bharat Sleeper Train from Howrah to Guwahati
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Anand Bhadauria

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2053 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## VANDE BHARAT SLEEPER TRAIN FROM HOWRAH TO GUWAHATI

## 2053. SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has flagged off first Vande Bharat sleeper train between Howrah and Guwahati recently and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of Vande Bharat sleeper trains proposed to be operated during 2026; and
- (c) whether the Government proposes to run Vande Bharat sleeper train and other premium trains from New Delhi via Shahjahanpur-Sitapur-Lucknow during the current year in view of least rail connectivity to Sitapur from New Delhi and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (c) For long distance travel the sleeper variant of Vande Bharat Express has  been  indigenously  designed  and  developed.  Two  such  trains  have already been manufactured. After extensive trials, these trains have been introduced on Indian Railways.

The  process  of  development  of  new  rolling  stocks  like  Vande  Sleeper necessitates  a  holistic  approach,  combining  technological  innovation, strategic  planning and  manufacturing  to  ensure  a  safe,  reliable  and comfortable  travel.  This  involves  development  of  prototype,  extensive testing and trials followed by series production.

To improve travel experience of the passengers and set new benchmarks in terms of safe and comfortable journey, these train sets have been provided with  modern  coaches  having  advanced  safety  features  and  passenger amenities like:

-  Jerk-Free Semi permanent couplers and Anti Climbers.
-  Fitted with KAVACH
-  Higher acceleration with design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH
-  Crashworthy Design of Car body complying with EN standards.
-  Fire barrier doors at the end of each coach for compliance of fire safety standards.
-  Improved fire safety - Aerosol based fire detection and suppression system in electrical cabinets and lavatories.
-  Regenerative braking system for energy efficiency.
-  Air conditioning units provided with indigenously developed UV-C lamp-based disinfection system for deactivating 99% harmful bacteria from conditioned air to improve the hygiene standards inside the passenger area.
-  Centrally controlled Automatic Plug Doors and Fully Sealed wider gangways CCTVs in all coaches.
-  Emergency talk-back unit for communication between Passenger and Train Manager/Loco Pilot in case of emergency.
-  For Divyangjan passengers, special lavatory in the driving coaches on each end.
-  Centralized Coach Monitoring System for better condition monitoring of passenger amenities such as Air conditioning, Saloon Lighting etc.
-  Ergonomically designed ladder for ease of climbing on to upper berths.

First  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  service  viz.  27575/27576  Howrah-  Kamakhya Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  Express  has  commenced  regular  operation  w.e.f. 22.01.2026.

Further, Delhi - Shahajahanpur sector, Sahajahanpur - Lucknow sector, Delhi -  Sitapur sector and Sitapur - Lucknow sector are served by 18 pairs, 44 pairs, 05 pairs and 07 pairs of train services respectively as tabled below:

## Train services over Delhi - Shahajahanpur sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                       |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 13065/13066 Anand Vihar (T) - Howrah Amrit Bharat Express   |
|    2 | 15909/15910 Lalgarh - Dibrugarh Express                     |
|    3 | 15127/15128 New Delhi - Varanasi Express                    |
|    4 | 12391/12392 New Delhi - Rajgir Express                      |
|    5 | 15115/15116 Delhi - Chhapra Express                         |
|    6 | 14017/14018 Anand Vihar (T) - Raxaul Express                |
|    7 | 14015/14016 Anand Vihar (T) - Raxaul Express                |
|    8 | 14007/14008 Anand Vihar (T) - Raxaul Express                |
|    9 | 14013/14014 Sultanpur - Anand Vihar (T) Express             |
|   10 | 15279/15280 Anand Vihar (T) - Saharsa Express               |
|   11 | 15273/15274 Anand Vihar (T) - Raxaul Express                |
|   12 | 14205/14206 Delhi - Ayodhya Cantt. Express                  |
|   13 | 14207/14208 Delhi - Pratapgarh Express                      |
|   14 | 12211/12212 Anand Vihar (T) - Muzaffarpur Garibrath Express |
|   15 | 12229/12230 New Delhi - Lucknow Mail                        |
|   16 | 12429/12430 New Delhi - Lucknow Express                     |
|   17 | 19269/19270 Porbandar - Muzaffarpur Express                 |
|   18 | 15715/15716 Ajmer-Kishanganj Garib Nawaz Express            |

## Train services over Shahjahanpur - Lucknow sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                       |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 13019/13020 Howrah - Kathgodam Express                      |
|    2 | 14649/14650 Jaynagar - Amritsar Express                     |
|    3 | 14673/14674 Jaynagar - Amritsar Express                     |
|    4 | 15001/15002 Muzaffarpur - Dehradun Express                  |
|    5 | 15005/15006 Gorakhpur - Dehradun Express                    |
|    6 | 15279/15280 Saharsa - Anand Vihar (T) Express               |
|    7 | 19269/19270 Muzaffarpur - Porbandar Express                 |
|    8 | 12211/12212 Anand Vihar (T) - Muzaffarpur Garibrath Express |
|    9 | 15715/15716 Kishanganj - Ajmer Express                      |
|   10 | 14229/14230 Prayagraj Sangam - Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express |
|   11 | 15909/15910 Dibrugarh - Lalgarh Avadh Assam Express         |
|   12 | 15933/15934 New Tinsukia - Amritsar Express                 |
|   13 | 14307/14308 Prayagraj Sangam - Bareilly Express             |
|   14 | 14235/14236 Varanasi - Bareilly Express                     |
|   15 | 12209/12210 Kathgodam - Kanpur Central Garibrath Express    |
|   16 | 15075/15076 Tanakpur - Shaktinagar Express                  |
|   17 | 15073/15074 Singrauli - Tanakpur Express                    |
|   18 | 13151/13152 Kolkata Chitpur - Jammu Tawi Express            |
|   19 | 22453/22454 Lucknow Jn. - Meerut Express                    |
|   20 | 13307/13308 Firozpur Cantt - Dhanbad Express                |
|   21 | 26503/26504 Gomti Nagar - Saharanpur Vande Bharat Express   |
|   22 | 13005/13006 Howrah - Amritsar Express                       |
|   23 | 15119/15120 Banaras - Dehradun Express                      |
|   24 | 13065/13066 Howrah - Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express   |

|   25 | 12237/12238 Varanasi - Jammu Tawi Express               |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------|
|   26 | 14017/14018 Raxaul - Anand Vihar (T) Sadbhavana Express |
|   27 | 14007/14008 Raxaul - Anand Vihar (T) Express            |
|   28 | 14013/14014 Sultanpur - Anand Vihar (T) Express         |
|   29 | 14015/14016 Raxaul - Anand Vihar (T) Express            |
|   30 | 54337/54338 Lucknow - Shahjahanpur Passenger            |
|   31 | 12587/12588 Gorakhpur - Jammu Tawi Express              |
|   32 | 15097/15098 Bhagalpur - Jammu Tawi Express              |
|   33 | 15653/15654 Guwahati - Jammu Tawi Express               |
|   34 | 14205/14206 Ayodhya Cantt - Delhi Express               |
|   35 | 12391/12392 Rajgir - New Delhi Express                  |
|   36 | 15127/15128 Banaras - New Delhi Express                 |
|   37 | 13009/13010 Howrah - Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express       |
|   38 | 14207/14208 Partapgarh - Delhi Express                  |
|   39 | 12229/12230 Lucknow - New Delhi Express                 |
|   40 | 14241/14242 Prayagraj -Saharanpur Nauchandi Express     |
|   41 | 12231/12232 Lucknow - Chandigarh Express                |
|   42 | 15115/15116 Chhapra - Delhi Loknayak Express            |
|   43 | 12429/12430 Lucknow - New Delhi Express                 |
|   44 | 15011/15012 Lucknow Jn. - Chandigarh Express            |

## Train services over Delhi - Sitapur sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                  |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 15273/15274 Anand Vihar (T) - Raxaul Satyagrah Express |
|    2 | 15621/15622 Anand Vihar (T) - Kamakhya Express         |
|    3 | 15529/15530 Anand Vihar (T) - Saharsa Express          |

|   4 | 14009/14010 Anand Vihar (T) - Bapudham Motihari Champaran Satyagrah Express   |
|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   5 | 14011/14012 Anand Vihar (T) - Radhikapur Express                              |

## Train services over Sitapur - Lucknow sector

|   SN | Train number and name                                     |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 15009/15010 Gorakhpur - Izzatnagar Express                |
|    2 | 55085/55086 Gomti Nagar - Pilibhit Passenger              |
|    3 | 26503/26504 Gomti Nagar - Saharanpur Vande Bharat Express |
|    4 | 12107/12108 Lokmanya Tilak (T) - Sitapur Express          |
|    5 | 55083/55084 Daliganj-Mailani Passenger                    |
|    6 | 55087/55088 Daliganj-Mailani Passenger                    |
|    7 | 55089/55090 Daliganj-Sitapur Passenger                    |

Besides, introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat sleeper services, is an on-going process, depends on various factors which include-

-  Capacity of that section
-  Availability of path
-  Availability of required rolling stock
-  Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock
-  Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets.
-  Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section.

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