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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 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 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 Express2 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 Express11 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
36 63391/63392 Islampur-Patna DEMU
37 63411/63412 Sahibganj-Bhagalpur MEMU38 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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