Lok Sabha Question No. 3057 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Fare Structure and Affordability of Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Abhishek Banerjee

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3057 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## FARE STRUCTURE AND AFFORDABILITY OF VANDE BHARAT SLEEPER

## TRAINS

## 3057. SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the fare structure notified for the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains including fares applicable on the Howrah-Guwahati, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri and Howrah-Malda Town routes, route and class-wise;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  comparative  fare  difference  between  Vande  Bharat Sleeper  services  and  existing  express  or  mail  trains  operating  on  the same routes and distance slabs, class-wise;
- (c) whether any assessment  has been undertaken to evaluate the affordability  of  the  notified  fares  for  middle-income  and  lower-middleincome  passengers  particularly  in  eastern  and  northeastern  regions and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether income levels, travel demand, and availability of alternative rail services are considered while fixing fares for premium trains and if so,
- the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  details  of  the  rationale  for  limiting  confirmed-ticket-only  travel  on Vande Bharat Sleeper trains without provision for Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) and its likely impact on passenger accessibility?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e) Indian Railways (IR) caters to various segments of the travelling public  and,  accordingly,  operates  different  types  of  train  services  like Suburban/Non-suburban ordinary train services, Mail/Express, Amrit Bharat,

Vande  Bharat,  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper,  Namo  Bharat  Rapid  Rail,  Tejas, Humsafar, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and Garib Rath services etc.

Ministry of Railways while deciding the fare structure of various types of passenger  services  gives  due  consideration  to  aspects  like  the  cost  of service,  value  of  service,  type  of  services/facilities  offered,  affordability, competition from other competing modes and socio-economic considerations etc.

The first Vande Bharat Sleeper service viz. 27575/27576 HowrahKamakhya  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  Express  has  been  introduced  w.e.f. 22.01.2026. The proliferation 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

To improve travel experience of the passengers, Vande Bharat Sleeper have been provided with modern coaches having advanced safety features and passenger  amenities  like  Jerk-Free  semi  permanent  couplers,  KAVACH, higher  acceleration,  improved  fire  safety  standards,  sealed  gangways, CCTVs  in all coaches, emergency talk-back unit centralized coach monitoring system, etc.

The  fare  structure  of  Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  train  are  based  on  per passenger-  per  kilometer  rate,  i.e  for  3 rd Air-conditioned  Class  (3AC)  is ₹2.40  excluding  GST.  The  indicative  fares  for  a  distance  of  1000  km excluding GST are ₹2400 for 3 AC.

Vande  Bharat  Sleeper  train  is  a  different  category  of  passenger  service with  an  all  inclusive  fare  and  this  train  has  no  provision  of  RAC  tickets. Passengers  in  waiting  list  get  confirmation  when  confirmed  passengers cancel tickets. Therefore services are accessible to passengers. Railways  always  strive  to  provide  affordable  services  to  all  strata  of society.  Accordingly,  it  operates  different  categories  of  train  services  to cater  to  the  travel  needs  of  various  categories  of  society  which  include trains  with  lower  fare  to  give  benefit  to  underprivileged  section  of  the society and also trains with enhanced facilities. The fares of Indian Railways are among the lowest in comparison to other countries in the world. The fare of Vande Bharat Sleeper ranges between ₹2.40  to  ₹3.80  per  PKM  which  is  much  lower  than  the  fares  of  similar segment of services  in  countries  like  China,  Japan  and  France,  where  it ranges from ₹7.00 to ₹20.00 per PKM. Indian Railways gave subsidy of Rs. 60,239 crore on passenger tickets in 2024-25.  This  amounts  to  concession  of  43%  on  an  average,  to  every person,  travelling  on  Railways.  In  other  words,  if  the  cost  of  providing service is Rs. 100, then the price of ticket is Rs. 57 only. This subsidy is continuing  for  all  passengers.  Further,  concessions  beyond  this  subsidy amount  are  continuing  for  many  categories  like  4  categories  of  Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and 8 categories of students.

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