Commercial operation of Guwahati-“Howrah Vande Bharat Sleeper to begin soon: Railways

Guwahati, Jan 17 (PTI) After Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train from West Bengal's Malda on Saturday, the Railway Ministry said that its commercial operations for common passengers will begin soon.

"This train is not available for booking for common passengers at present. But efforts are being made in the booking system to include it," a senior railway official said.

The date from which the train will be available for general passengers has not yet been decided, he said.

Many people who arrived at Assam's Kamakhya railway station to attend the virtual launch of the Vande Bharat Sleeper version by the Prime Minister, who was in Malda to physically flag off one train set, said the Railways should start the train's commercial run as soon as possible so that its benefits can be availed by needy travellers.

On January 8, 2026, the ministry released a circular notifying the train's timetable and stoppages. According to the circular, one train set (Train No 27576) will depart from Kamakhya station at 6.15 pm and, with stoppages at 13 stations, will arrive at Howrah at 8.15 am the next morning, covering 972 kilometres in 14 hours.

The other train set (Train No 27575) will depart from Howrah at 6.20 pm and arrive at Kamakhya at 8.20 am the next morning.

The 13 stoppages between Kamakhya and Howrah are Rangiya, New Bongaigaon, New Alipurduar, New Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri Road, New Jalpaiguri, Aluabari Road, Malda Town, New Farakka, Azimganj, Katwa, Nabadwip Dham, and Bandel.

Officials said this is the fastest train on the route, as the quickest among the existing trains -- ”the Saraighat Express -- ”takes 16 hours and 23 minutes to complete the journey between Howrah and Guwahati.

The railway circular dated January 9, 2026, detailed the fare structure.

According to it, passengers will have to pay Rs 1,520 for AC First Class, Rs 1,240 for AC Two-Tier and Rs 960 for AC Three-Tier for travel over any distance between 1 and 400 kilometres.

Beyond 400 kilometres, charges will be calculated on a per-kilometre basis at Rs 3.80 for AC First Class, Rs 3.10 for AC Two-Tier, and Rs 2.40 for AC Three-Tier.

A press release from the Railway Ministry stated that the sleeper train set consists of 16 air-conditioned coaches, including one AC First Class coach, four AC Two-Tier coaches, and eleven AC Three-Tier coaches.

"It is designed to provide safe and comfortable overnight travel, with a total capacity of around 823 passengers," the statement added.

Officials maintained that Vande Bharat is envisioned as a key pillar of India's passenger rail modernisation in the coming decades.

"By 2047, the Vande Bharat fleet is envisioned to scale up to around 4,500 train sets, aligned with India's long-term development goals," they added.

Outlining future plans, the ministry stated that in the medium term, the focus is on scaling up services by operating about 800 Vande Bharat train sets by 2030, subject to infrastructure readiness and manufacturing capacity. PTI JP RUK RUK