Lok Sabha Question No. 362 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Vande Bharat Trains in the Country
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri  Selvaganapathi T.M.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 362 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026

## VANDE BHARAT TRAINS IN THE COUNTRY

- *362. SHRI SELVAGANAPATHI T.M.:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Government  is  considering  to  connect every city of the country with Vande Bharat services and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  plans  to  introduce  800  such  trains  by  the year 2030 and more than 4,500 trains of the latest generation by the year 2047 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Railways  is  geared  up  to  bringing  Vande  Bharat  4.0 version trains over the next two years and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  whether  the  upcoming  Vande  Bharat  4.0  version  is  envisaged  to incorporate  Kavach  5.0  forming  a  core  part  of  its  advanced  safety and technology framework and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.362 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 IN LOK SABHA

(a) to (d) 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)  Express  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 12.03.2026, 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 Jn 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 services [Sleeper]:

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 Howrah- Kamakhya 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 12.03.2026, 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 |

## Amrit Bharat Services

Indian  Railways  have  developed  fully  non-AC  modern  train  named  as Amrit Bharat express. These modern trains comprise of 11 General Class coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 01 Pantry car and 02 Luggage cum Divyangjan coaches. These trains have following enhanced features and amenities:

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

As  on  12.03.2026,  the  following  58  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                |

## Namo Bharat Rapid Rail

Namo Bharat Rapid Rail has been  introduced to  enhance  the  travelling experience  of  suburban  and  regional  commuters  for  inter-city  short distance movement by harnessing the features of Vande Bharat Trains.

The prominent features of Namo Bharat Rapid Rail are as follows:

- Centrally controlled Double Leaf Automatic Sliding Doors.
- CCTVs for safety and passenger surveillance.
- Modular interior with Cushioned Seats and Sealed Flexible Gangway.
- Emergency Talk Back System.
- Continuous LED lighting with Energy Efficient Lighting system.
- FRP Modular Toilets with vacuum evacuation.
- Fully Air-Conditioned trains with AC Driver cab.

As on 12.03.2026, the following 4 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail services are in operation on Indian Railways network:-

|   SN | Train Number and Name                             |
|------|---------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 94801/94802 Ahmedabad-Bhuj Namo Bharat Rapid Rail |
|    2 | 94803/94804 Jaynagar-Patna Namo Bharat Rapid Rail |

Besides,  introduction  of  new  train  services,  including  Vande  Bharat services  and  its  variants,  is  an  on-going  process,  which  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.

*****