Lok Sabha Question No. 5481 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Safety Standards for Vande Bharat Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Jagadish Shettar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5481 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## SAFETY STANDARDS FOR VANDE BHARAT TRAINS

## 5481. SHRI JAGADISH SHETTAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the roadmap for launching Vande Bharat sleeper trains and the manner in  which  the  safety  standards  for  these  high-speed  trains  are  being ensured;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  measures  being  initiated  to  address  the  issues  of fraudulent ticket bookings touting and the challenges faced by passengers in getting confirmed tickets; and
- (c) the details of the steps being taken to increase the number of non-AC affordable coaches  in long-distance trains in light of complaints regarding overcrowding in General/Non-AC coaches?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (c) Indian Railways (IR)  is focussed on providing affordable, good quality  services  to  all  sections  of  society.  With  a  view  to  improve  travel experience of the passengers, Indian Railways have introduced indigenously  designed  and  manufactured  Vande  Bharat  (Sleeper  &  Chair Car), Amrit Bharat, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail services with modern coaches, advanced safety features and passenger amenities.

Vande Bharat services (Chair Car):

Indian Railways, with a view to improve travel experience of the passengers,  have  introduced  indigenously  designed  and  manufactured Vande Bharat trains  with  modern  coaches,  advanced  safety  features  and

§

passenger amenities. These Vande Bharat Chair Car Trains  have following features:

- Jerk Free Semi-Permanent couplers.
- Fitted with KAVACH
- Centrally  controlled  Automatic  Plug  Doors  and  Fully  Sealed  wider gangways.
- Emergency Alarm Push buttons and Talk Back Units on all Coaches.
- Improved fire  safety  -  Aerosol  based  fire  detection  and  suppression system in electrical cabinets and lavatories.
- Higher acceleration with design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH.
- Driver-Guard  communication  with  voice  recording  facility  &  Crash hardened memory.
- 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.
- Better Ride Comfort.
- CCTVs in all Coaches.
- For Divyangjan passengers special lavatory in the driving coaches on each end.
- Coach  condition  monitoring  System  (CCMS)  display  with  remote monitoring

As on 18.03.2026, the following 162 Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car) are being operated on the Indian Railways network, as under:-

|   SN | Train No. and Name                                    |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 22435/22436 New Delhi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express |

|   2 | 22439/22440 Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express           |
|-----|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   3 | 20901/20902 Gandhinagar Capital - Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express              |
|   4 | 22447/22448 Amb Andura - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express                            |
|   5 | 20607/20608 Mysuru - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express                      |
|   6 | 20825/20826 Nagpur - Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express                                 |
|   7 | 22301/22302 New Jalpaiguri - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   8 | 20833/20834 Secunderabad - Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express                      |
|   9 | 22223/22224 Sainagar Shirdi - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express |
|  10 | 22225/22226 Solapur - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express         |
|  11 | 20171/20172 Nizamuddin - Rani Kamlapati Vande Bharat Express                       |
|  12 | 20701/20702 Tirupati - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express                           |
|  13 | 20643/20644 Coimbatore - Chennai Vande Bharat Express                              |
|  14 | 20977/20978 Chandigarh - Ajmer Vande Bharat Express                                |
|  15 | 20633/20634 Thiruvananthapuram- Kasargod Vande Bharat Express                      |
|  16 | 22895/22896 Puri - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                                     |
|  17 | 22457/22458 Dehradun - Anand Vihar Vande Bharat Express                            |
|  18 | 22227/22228 Guwahati - New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express                         |

|   19 | 20911/20912 Nagpur - Indore Vande Bharat Express                           |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   20 | 22229/22230 Madgaon - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express |
|   21 | 22349/22350 Ranchi - Patna Vande Bharat Express                            |
|   22 | 20661/20662 Dharwar - Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express                       |
|   23 | 20173/20174 Rewa - Rani Kamlapati Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   24 | 22549/22550 Gorakhpur - Prayagraj Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   25 | 12461/12462 Sabarmati - Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express                       |
|   26 | 22925/22926 Okha - Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express                          |
|   27 | 20665/20666 Tirunelveli - Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express              |
|   28 | 20677/20678 Narsapur - Chennai Vande Bharat Express                        |
|   29 | 20703/20704 Yesvantpur - Kacheguda Vande Bharat Express                    |
|   30 | 20631/20632 Thiruvananthapuram- Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express             |
|   31 | 26963/26964 Udaipur - Asarva Vande Bharat Express                          |
|   32 | 22347/22348 Patna - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                            |
|   33 | 20835/20836 Puri - Rourkela Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   34 | 20897/20898 Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   35 | 22415/22416 New Delhi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express                      |
|   36 | 20641/20642 Coimbatore - Bengaluru Cant Vande Bharat Express               |
|   37 | 20645/20646 Mangaluru - Madgaon Vande Bharat Express                       |

|   38 | 20705/20706 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) - Nanded Vande Bharat Express   |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   39 | 22477/22478 Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express    |
|   40 | 22425/22426 Anand Vihar - Ayodhya Cantt. Vande Bharat Express               |
|   41 | 22487/22488 Amritsar - Delhi Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   42 | 22962/22961 Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express                 |
|   43 | 20707/20708 Visakhapatnam - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express               |
|   44 | 20663/20664 Chennai - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   45 | 22233/22234 Patna - New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   46 | 22470/22469 Khajuraho - Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   47 | 22231/22232 Bengaluru - Kalburagi Vande Bharat Express                      |
|   48 | 20841/20842 Visakhapatnam - Bhubaneswar Vande Bharat Express                |
|   49 | 22345/22346 Gomti Nagar - Patna Vande Bharat Express                        |
|   50 | 20887/20888 Varanasi - Ranchi Vande Bharat Express                          |
|   51 | 22545/22546 Dehradun - Lucknow Vande Bharat Express                         |
|   52 | 22490/22489 Varanasi - Meerut City Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   53 | 20627/20628 Nagercoil - Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express                 |
|   54 | 20671/20672 Bengaluru Cantt - Madurai Vande Bharat Express                  |
|   55 | 22500/22499 Deoghar - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express                         |
|   56 | 22309/22310 Jamalpur - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                          |

|   57 | 20871/20872 Rourkela - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                       |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   58 | 20893/20894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express                       |
|   59 | 20892/20891 Tatanagar - Brahmapur Vande Bharat Express                   |
|   60 | 22303/22304 Gaya - Howrah Vande Bharat Express                           |
|   61 | 20669/20670 Pune - Hubballi Vande Bharat Express                         |
|   62 | 20673/20674 Pune - Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express    |
|   63 | 20101/20102 Secunderabad - Nagpur Vande Bharat Express                   |
|   64 | 20829/20830 Visakhapatnam - Durg Vande Bharat Express                    |
|   65 | 21893/21894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express                       |
|   66 | 21895/21896 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express                       |
|   67 | 20176/20175 Banaras - Agra Cantt. Vande Bharat Express                   |
|   68 | 26901/26902 Veraval - Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express                     |
|   69 | 26401/26402 Srinagar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express |
|   70 | 26403/26404 Srinagar -Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express  |
|   71 | 26502/26501 Patliputra - Gorakhpur Vande Bharat Express                  |
|   72 | 26751/26752 KSR Bengaluru - Belagavi Vande Bharat Express                |
|   73 | 26406/26405 Amritsar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express |

|   74 | 26101/26102 Pune - Ajni Vande Bharat Express               |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|   75 | 26302/26301 Jogbani - Danapur Vande Bharat Express         |
|   76 | 26481/26482 Delhi Cantt - Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express     |
|   77 | 26471/26472 Delhi Cantt - Bikaner Vande Bharat Express     |
|   78 | 26462/26461 Delhi - Firozpur Cantt. Vande Bharat Express   |
|   79 | 26651/26652 Ernakulam - KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express |
|   80 | 26506/26505 Khajuraho - Banaras Vande Bharat Express       |
|   81 | 26504/26503 Saharanpur - Gomtinagar Vande Bharat Express   |

Vande Bharat Sleeper Train services:

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

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.
- 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.

As  on  18.03.2026,  the  following  02  Vande  Bharat  train  services  (Sleeper Car) are being operated on the Indian Railways network:

|   SN | Train No. and Name                                         |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 27575/27576 Howrah - Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper Express |

Besides, introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat sleeper services,  replacement/discontinuation  of  existing  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.

## Non-AC Coaches[General and Sleeper]

To provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC  Sleeper  Coaches,  the  extant  policy  regarding  composition  of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General  class & Sleeper class non-  AC  coaches  and  08  (eight)  AC-Coaches,  in  a  train  of  22  coaches, thereby  providing  greater  accommodation  for  the  passengers    using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.

With  a  view  to  meet  the  demand  of  passengers  travelling  in  unreserved coaches, Railways have significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel. During the last financial year 2024 - 25 alone, 1250 general coaches have been utilised in various longdistance  trains.  In  the  current  financial  year  (upto  February,  2026),  860 Coaches have been utilised for permanent augmentation.

To cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have taken up manufacturing of 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper). On IR, the percentage of non-AC coaches, is about 70% as indicated below:

Table 1: Distribution of coaches:

| Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper)   | ~62,000   | ~70%   |
|----------------------------------------|-----------|--------|
| AC coaches                             | ~27,000   | ~30%   |
| Total coaches                          | ~89,000   | 100%   |

Due  to  higher  availability  of  general  coaches,  the  number  of  passengers traveling in general/ unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend as shown below:

Table 2: Passengers in general/unreserved coaches:

| Year    | No. of Passengers   |
|---------|---------------------|
| 2020-21 | 99 Cr (Covid year)  |
| 2021-22 | 275 Cr (Covid year) |
| 2022-23 | 553 Cr              |
| 2023-24 | 609 Cr              |
| 2024-25 | 651 Cr              |

The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased.

The current composition is as follows:

Table 3: Distribution of seats:

| Non-AC seats   | ~ 54 lakhs   | ~ 78%   |
|----------------|--------------|---------|
| AC seats       | ~ 15 lakhs   | ~ 22%   |
| Total          | ~ 69 lakhs   | 100%    |

Amrit Bharat service:

To  provide  affordable  means  of  transportation  to  the  low  and  middle income families,  Indian  Railways    have  introduced  Amrit  Bharat  services that  are  fully  non-AC  modern  trains.  The  present    composition  of  Amrit

Bharat consists of 11 General Class coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 01 Pantry car and 02 Luggage cum Divyangjan coaches.

High  Speed  and  enhanced  Safety  standards  are  the  hallmarks  of  these trains with following enhanced features and amenities:

- i. Better aesthetics of seat and berths with enhanced look & feel on the lines of Vande Bharat Sleeper.
- ii. Jerk Free Semi-Automatic Couplers.
- iii. Improved Crashworthiness in coaches by provision of crash tube.
- iv. Provision of CCTV system in all coaches.
- v. Improved designs of toilets.
- vi. Improved design of Ladder for ease of climbing on to the berth.
- vii. Improved LED Light fitting & Charging Sockets.
- viii. Provision of EP assisted braking system.
- ix. Aerosol  based  fire  suppression  system  in  toilets  and  electrical cubicles.
- x. USB Type-A and Type-C mobile charging sockets.
- xi. Emergency Talk Back system for two-way communication between Passenger and Guard/Train Manager.
- xii. Non-AC pantry with enhanced heating capacity.
- xiii. Fully  sealed  gangways  with  quick  release  mechanism  for  easy attachment and detachment.

As on 18.03.2026, the following 60 Amrit Bharat Express services are being operated on the Indian Railways network:

|   SN | Train No. and Name                                            |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 11015/11016 Lokmanya Tilak (T) - Saharsa Amrit Bharat Express |
|    2 | 13697/13698 Gaya - Delhi Amrit Bharat Express                 |
|    3 | 15293/15294 Muzaffarpur - Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express    |

|   4 | 15557/15558 Darbhanga - Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express         |
|-----|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   5 | 15561/15562 Darbhanga - Gomtinagar Amrit Bharat Express              |
|   6 | 15567/15568 Bapudham Motihari - Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
|   7 | 22361/22362 Rajendranagar (T) - New Delhi Amrit Bharat Express       |
|   8 | 13433/13434 SMVT Bengaluru - Malda Town Amrit Bharat Express         |
|   9 | 13435/13436 Malda Town - Gomtinagar Amrit Bharat Express             |
|  10 | 15133/15134 Chhapra - Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express           |
|  11 | 14047/14048 Sitamarhi - Delhi Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  12 | 14627/14628 Saharsa - Chheharta Amrit Bharat Express                 |
|  13 | 19623/19624 Madar - Darbhanga Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  14 | 16601/16602 Erode - Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express                     |
|  15 | 19021/19022 Udhna - Brahmapur Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  16 | 15671/15672 Kamakhya - Rohtak Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  17 | 20609/20610 New Jalpaiguri - Tiruchchirappalli Amrit Bharat Express  |
|  18 | 16597/16598 SMVT Bengaluru - Alipurduar Amrit Bharat Express         |
|  19 | 11031/11032 Panvel - Alipurduar Amrit Bharat Express                 |
|  20 | 16107/16108 Tambaram - Santragachi Amrit Bharat Express              |
|  21 | 13065/13066 Howrah - Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express            |
|  22 | 22587/22588 Sealdah - Banaras Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  23 | 20603/20604 New Jalpaiguri - Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express          |
|  24 | 15949/15950 Dibrugarh - Gomti Nagar Amrit Bharat Express             |

|   25 | 16121/16122 Tambaram - Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express   |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   26 | 16329/16330 Nagercoil - Mangaluru Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|   27 | 17041/17042 Charlapalli - Thiruvananthapuram North Amrit Bharat Express  |
|   28 | 16619/16620 Podanur-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express                         |
|   29 | 16357/16358 Nagercoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|   30 | 15673/15674 Charlapalli - Kamakhya Amrit Bharat Express                  |

## Special trains

IR  also  operates  Special  train  services  during  festivals,  holidays,  etc.  to cater to the extra needs of passengers and supplement the accommodation available by regular services.

Accordingly,  the  number  of  Special  trains  operated  across  the  Indian Railways  network,  to  facilitate  the  passengers  during  Summer/winter vacations, festivals etc.  are as below:

| Year                     | No. of trips   |
|--------------------------|----------------|
| 2023-24                  | ~40,500        |
| 2024-25                  | ~85,400        |
| 2025-26 (upto Feb, 2026) | ~74,800        |

## Ticket Bookings:

The measures taken by Indian Railways to address the issues of fraudulent ticket bookings and touting are as under:

1. Regular  checks  are  conducted  in  mass  contact  areas  such  as Passenger Reservation System (PRS) centres, Booking Offices, Platforms,  Trains  etc.  to  prevent  unauthorized  ticketing  activities. Such checks are intensified during peak period like festivals, holidays etc.
2. Public are also educated through Public Address System and media, not to buy tickets from unscrupulous elements and consequences of buying tickets from these unauthorised sources.
3. Regular  drives  are  conducted  by  RPF  against  touts  over  Indian Railway and action is taken against persons found involved in touting as  per  the  provisions  contained  in  the  Railways  Act.  Cases  having wider  ramifications  and  involving  ingredients  of  other  offences  are dealt in coordination with other law enforcement agencies like Police & CBI.
4. Regular Cyber patrolling through cyber cells of RPF is done to prevent activities of touts using illegal softwares for cornering of tickets and action is taken against them as per extant legal provisions.

Besides,  Indian  Railways  have  also  taken  various  measures  to  keep  a check on the activities of unscrupulous elements involved in malpractices in reservation, some of which are as under: -

- i. With  effect  from  01-07-2025,  tickets  under  Tatkal  Scheme  can  be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation  (IRCTC)/its  app  only  by  Aadhaar  authenticated  users. Further, agents are barred from booking opening day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of opening of Tatkal booking.
- ii. During the opening day of general reservation of ARP, the reserved general tickets can be booked through the website of IRCTC or its app only by Aadhar authenticated users.

- iii. Instructions have been issued to ensure that tickets are not booked on  abbreviated  names  and  full  name  of  the  passenger  and  the surname  wherever  applicable  are  captured  at  the  time  of  booking reserved tickets.
- iv. Carrying of prescribed identity proof has been made compulsory for one of the passengers while undertaking journey in reserved class.
- v. With a view to curb the activities of unscrupulous elements involved in unauthorized ticketing activities, regular checks are conducted by Commercial,  Vigilance  and  Security  Departments.  Such  checks  are intensified during peak rush periods like festivals, holidays etc.
- vi. Surveillance  at  reservation  offices  has  also  been  stepped  up  by installing Close Circuit Television at important PRS locations.

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