Vande Bharat sleeper trains: Railway Minister Vaishnaw shares pictures of the concept train

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to give travellers an idea of the concept of Vande Bharat sleeper trains and what would look they like. The Minister shared the pictures with the caption "Coming soon… early 2024".

These sleeper trains are being manufactured by a consortium of India’s Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Russia’s TMH Group - which bid the lowest to supply 120 of the 200 new version of Vande Bharat sleeper trains - while the other 80 will be manufactured by a consortium of Titagarh Wagons and BHEL.

The new sleepers are reportedly an alternative to the Rajdhani trains.



In the pictures, the latest trains, which will are likely to roll out in March, appear to be equipped with better lighting and good suspension. These will also have amped up interiors and better staircases facilitating the passengers getting the upper berth. However, discussions over these are still underway.

According to TOI, the first version will have 857 berths out of which 823 berths will be reserved for passengers and remaining 34 for the staff. These trains will have three toilets in each coach with a mini pantry, giving the passengers the experience like that of a Rajdhani train.

The Vande Bharat Express trains are part of the Indian government's efforts to manufacture trains indigenously, with the very first one flagged off on February 15, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The country currently has 33 of these running.