Lok Sabha Question No. 4265 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper Train in Bihar
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Janardan Singh Sigriwal

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4265

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026

## INTRODUCTION OF VANDE BHARAT SLEEPER TRAIN IN BIHAR

## 4265. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has proposed/approved introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper Train services connecting various stations in Bihar, if so, the  details  thereof  including  the  routes  identified,  originating  and terminating stations and the likely timeline for its commencement;
- (b) whether any railway stations in Bihar have been identified as stoppages/terminals  for  the  said  train  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof, station-wise;
- (c)  whether  rake  manufacturing, trials  and  safety  clearances  for  the  said Train  intended  to  serve  Bihar  routes  have  been  completed,  if  so,  the details thereof including trial status and expected timeline for commercial operations; and
- (d) whether the Government has assessed the likely impact of introducing Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  services  on  long-distance  connectivity  and passenger  demand  from  Bihar  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including expected reduction in travel time specially from different metro cities?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d) 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 (IR). 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.
- 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 lampbased 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  the  railway  network  straddles  across  State  boundaries,  trains  are operated  as  per  network  requirement,  across  such  boundaries.  However, during the period April 2023- February, 2026, IR, on originating /terminating basis,  have  introduced  136  train  services  including  22  Vande  Bharat services, 24 Amrit Bharat services, and 02 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail services which inter alia cater to the needs of passengers of stations located in the State of Bihar.

## Vande Bharat [Chair Car]:

|   SN | Train Name and Number                                 |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 20893/20894 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express      |
|    2 | 21893/21894 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express      |
|    3 | 21895/21896 Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express      |
|    4 | 22233/22234 New Jalpaiguri-Patna Vande Bharat Express |
|    5 | 22303/22304 Howrah-Gaya Vande Bharat Express          |
|    6 | 22309/22310 Howrah-Bhagalpur Vande Bharat Express     |
|    7 | 22345/22346 Patna-Gomti Nagar Vande Bharat Express    |
|    8 | 22347/22348 Howrah-Patna Vande Bharat Express         |
|    9 | 22349/22350 Patna-Ranchi Vande Bharat Express         |
|   10 | 26301/26302 Jogbani-Danapur Vande Bharat Express      |
|   11 | 26501/26502 Gorakhpur-Patliputra Vande Bharat Express |

## Amrit Bharat:

|   SN | Train Name and Number                                      |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 11015/11016 Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Saharsa Amrit Bharat Express |

|   2 | 13697/13698 Gaya-Delhi Amrit Bharat Express                        |
|-----|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   3 | 14048/14047 Delhi-Sitamarhi Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|   4 | 14628/14627 Chheharta-Saharsa Amrit Bharat Express                 |
|   5 | 15133/15134 Chhapra-Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express           |
|   6 | 15293/15294 Muzaffarpur-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express           |
|   7 | 15557/15558 Darbhanga -Anand Vihar(T) Amrit Bharat Express         |
|   8 | 15561/15562 Darbhanga-Gomti Nagar Amrit Bharat Express             |
|   9 | 15567/15568 Bapudham Motihari-Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
|  10 | 16601/16602 Erode-Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express                     |
|  11 | 19623/19624 Madar-Darbhanga Amrit Bharat Express                   |
|  12 | 22361/22362 Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Amrit Bharat Express          |

## Namo Bharat Rapid Rail:

|   SN | Train Name and Number                                     |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 94803/94804 Jaynagar-Patna Namo Bharat Rapid Rail Express |

## Mail/Express and Passengers:

|   SN | Train Name and Number                         |
|------|-----------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 13212/13211 Danapur-Jogbani Express           |
|    2 | 13213/13214 Jogbani-Saharsa Express           |
|    3 | 13251/13252 Patna-Anand Vihar(T) Express      |
|    4 | 13334/13333 Patna-Dumka Express               |
|    5 | 15135/15136 Chhapra-Amritsar Express          |
|    6 | 15501/15502 Raxaul-Jogbani Express            |
|    7 | 15505/15506 Saharsa-Patliputra Express        |
|    8 | 15507/15508 Darbhanga-Patliputra Express      |
|    9 | 15555/15556 Bapudham Motihari-Patliputra MEMU |
|   10 | 15589/15590 Muzaffarpur-Hadapsar Express      |

|   11 | 15701/15702 Katihar-Siliguri Express            |
|------|-------------------------------------------------|
|   12 | 15723/15724 Jogbani-Siliguri Express            |
|   13 | 18119/18120 Tatanagar-Jaynagar Express          |
|   14 | 19801/19802 Sogaria Cabin-Danapur Express       |
|   15 | 22357/22358 Gaya-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express      |
|   16 | 53201/53202 Patna-Buxar Passenger               |
|   17 | 53203/53204 Jhajha-Danapur Passenger            |
|   18 | 53237/53238 Gaya-Patna Passenger                |
|   19 | 53239/53240 Gaya-Patna Passenger                |
|   20 | 53241/53242 Gawnaha-Narkatiaganj Passenger      |
|   21 | 55121/55122 Siwan-Samastipur Passenger          |
|   22 | 55501/55502 Jhanjharpur-Laukaha bazar Passenger |
|   23 | 55503/55504 Jhanjharpur-Laukaha bazar Passenger |
|   24 | 55583/55584 Raxaul-Narkatiaganj Passenger       |
|   25 | 63273/63274 Rajgir-Patna MEMU                   |
|   26 | 63275/63276 Kiul-Patna MEMU                     |
|   27 | 63329/63330 Gaya-Patliputra MEMU                |
|   28 | 63331/63332 Kiul-Mokama MEMU                    |
|   29 | 63333/63334 Patliputra-Ballia MEMU              |
|   30 | 63357/63358 Fatuha-Hilsa MEMU                   |
|   31 | 63359/63360 Saharsa-Dauram Madhepura MEMU       |
|   32 | 63361/63362 Narkatiaganj-Gauhana MEMU           |
|   33 | 63375/63376 Saharsa-Supaul MEMU                 |
|   34 | 63383/63384 Vaishali-Koderma MEMU               |
|   35 | 63389/63390 Nawada-Patna DEMU                   |
|   37 | 63411/63412 Sahibganj-Bhagalpur MEMU            |

|   38 | 75213/75214 Raxaul -Mehsi MEMU           |
|------|------------------------------------------|
|   39 | 75215/75216 Raxaul-Jaynagar Passenger    |
|   40 | 75221/75222 Sonpur-Vaishali DEMU         |
|   41 | 75223/75224 Bihariganj-Purnea Court DEMU |
|   42 | 75225/75226 Saharsa-Purnea Court DEMU    |
|   43 | 75249/75250 Saharsa-Amha Pipra DEMU      |
|   44 | 75251/75252 Saharsa-Samastipur DEMU      |

Besides,  introduction  of  train  services,  including  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper services, on any route/section, which 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.

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