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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3300
ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026
NEW VANDE BHARAT ROUTES AND SERVICES IN TAMIL NADU
3300 SMT. RAJATHI:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of Vande Bharat Express trains currently operational in the country and their
average monthly occupancy rates since inception;
(b) the details of the number of 8-car rakes upgraded to 20-car rakes in the Southern Railway zone to
meet the high passenger load;
(c) whether Government has conducted a feasibility study for introducing new Vande Bharat routes in
Tamil Nadu considering higher occupancy rate; and
(d) the current status of Vande Bharat Sleeper service in Tamil Nadu, following the national rollout in
January 2026?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (d) Indian Railways is focussed on providing affordable, good quality services to all sections of
society. Railways has inter alia developed the Vande Bharat Chair Car services and Vande Bharat
Sleeper Services. As on 15.03.2026, 162 Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car) and 02 Vande Bharat
Sleeper Express are operational on the Indian Railways network. The average occupancy of Vande
Bharat trains during 2025-26 (upto February-26) is approximately 100%.
Vande Bharat services (Chair Car):
Indian Railways, with a view to improve travel experience of the passengers, have introduced
indigenously designed and manufactured Vande Bharat trains with modern coaches, advanced safety
features and passenger amenities. These Vande Bharat Chair Car Trains have following features:
● Jerk Free Semi-Permanent couplers.
● Fitted with KAVACH
● Centrally controlled Automatic Plug Doors and Fully Sealed wider gangways.
● Emergency Alarm Push buttons and Talk Back Units on all Coaches.
● Improved fire safety – Aerosol based fire detection and suppression system in electrical cabinets
and lavatories.
● Higher acceleration with design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH.
● Driver-Guard communication with voice recording facility & Crash hardened memory.
§● 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.
● Better Ride Comfort.
● CCTVs in all Coaches.
● For Divyangjan passengers special lavatory in the driving coaches on each end.
● Coach condition monitoring System (CCMS) display with remote monitoring
List of the 162 Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car) presently being operated on the Indian Railways
network, is as under:-
SN Train No. and Name
1 22435/22436 New Delhi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express
2 22439/22440 Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express
3 20901/20902 Gandhinagar Capital - Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express
4 22447/22448 Amb Andura - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express
5 20607/20608 Mysuru - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express
6 20825/20826 Nagpur - Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express
7 22301/22302 New Jalpaiguri - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
8 20833/20834 Secunderabad - Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express
9 22223/22224 Sainagar Shirdi - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express
10 22225/22226 Solapur - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express
11 20171/20172 Nizamuddin - Rani Kamlapati Vande Bharat Express
12 20701/20702 Tirupati - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express
13 20643/20644 Coimbatore - Chennai Vande Bharat Express
14 20977/20978 Chandigarh - Ajmer Vande Bharat Express
15 20633/20634 Thiruvananthapuram- Kasargod Vande Bharat Express
16 22895/22896 Puri - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
§17 22457/22458 Dehradun - Anand Vihar Vande Bharat Express
18 22227/22228 Guwahati - New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express
19 20911/20912 Nagpur - Indore Vande Bharat Express
20 22229/22230 Madgaon - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express
21 22349/22350 Ranchi - Patna Vande Bharat Express
22 20661/20662 Dharwar - Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express
23 20173/20174 Rewa - Rani Kamlapati Vande Bharat Express
24 22549/22550 Gorakhpur - Prayagraj Vande Bharat Express
25 12461/12462 Sabarmati - Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express
26 22925/22926 Okha - Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express
27 20665/20666 Tirunelveli - Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express
28 20677/20678 Narsapur - Chennai Vande Bharat Express
29 20703/20704 Yesvantpur - Kacheguda Vande Bharat Express
30 20631/20632 Thiruvananthapuram- Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express
31 26963/26964 Udaipur - Asarva Vande Bharat Express
32 22347/22348 Patna - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
33 20835/20836 Puri - Rourkela Vande Bharat Express
34 20897/20898 Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
35 22415/22416 New Delhi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express
36 20641/20642 Coimbatore - Bengaluru Cant Vande Bharat Express
37 20645/20646 Mangaluru - Madgaon Vande Bharat Express
38 20705/20706 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (T) - Nanded Vande Bharat Express
39 22477/22478 Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express
§40 22425/22426 Anand Vihar - Ayodhya Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
41 22487/22488 Amritsar - Delhi Vande Bharat Express
42 22962/22961 Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express
43 20707/20708 Visakhapatnam - Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express
44 20663/20664 Chennai - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express
45 22233/22234 Patna - New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express
46 22470/22469 Khajuraho - Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express
47 22231/22232 Bengaluru - Kalburagi Vande Bharat Express
48 20841/20842 Visakhapatnam - Bhubaneswar Vande Bharat Express
49 22345/22346 Gomti Nagar - Patna Vande Bharat Express
50 20887/20888 Varanasi - Ranchi Vande Bharat Express
51 22545/22546 Dehradun - Lucknow Jn Vande Bharat Express
52 22490/22489 Varanasi - Meerut City Vande Bharat Express
53 20627/20628 Nagercoil - Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express
54 20671/20672 Bengaluru Cantt - Madurai Vande Bharat Express
55 22500/22499 Deoghar - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express
56 22309/22310 Jamalpur - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
57 20871/20872 Rourkela - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
58 20893/20894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
59 20892/20891 Tatanagar - Brahmapur Vande Bharat Express
60 22303/22304 Gaya - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
61 20669/20670 Pune - Hubballi Vande Bharat Express
62 20673/20674 Pune - Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (T) Vande Bharat Express
§63 20101/20102 Secunderabad - Nagpur Vande Bharat Express
64 20829/20830 Visakhapatnam - Durg Vande Bharat Express
65 21893/21894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
66 21895/21896 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
67 20176/20175 Banaras - Agra Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
68 26901/26902 Veraval - Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express
69 26401/26402 Srinagar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express
70 26403/26404 Srinagar -Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express
71 26502/26501 Patliputra - Gorakhpur Vande Bharat Express
72 26751/26752 KSR Bengaluru - Belagavi Vande Bharat Express
73 26406/26405 Amritsar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express
74 26101/26102 Pune - Ajni Vande Bharat Express
75 26302/26301 Jogbani - Danapur Vande Bharat Express
76 26481/26482 Delhi Cantt - Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express
77 26471/26472 Delhi Cantt - Bikaner Vande Bharat Express
78 26462/26461 Delhi - Firozpur Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
79 26651/26652 Ernakulam - KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express
80 26506/26505 Khajuraho - Banaras Vande Bharat Express
81 26504/26503 Saharanpur - Gomtinagar Vande Bharat Express
Vande Bharat services (Sleeper):
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.
Broad Technological advancements and safety features provided in the Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains
are as below:
● 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.
● 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 on 15.03.2026, the following 02 Vande Bharat Sleeper Express are being operated on the Indian
Railways network, as under:-
SN Train No. and Name
1 27575/27576 Howrah - Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper Express
As the Railway network straddles across state boundaries, trains are introduced, as per network
requirement, across such boundaries. However, on originating/terminating basis, Indian Railways have
introduced 16 new Vande Bharat train services catering to the needs of various stations located in the
State of Tamil Nadu. These are listed below:
§SN Train Number and Name
1 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express
2 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli Vande Bharat Express
3 20607/20608 Chennai Central - Mysuru Vande Bharat Express
4 20671/20672 Madurai - Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat Express
5 20641/20642 Bengaluru Cantonment - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express
6 20643/20644 Chennai Central - Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express
7 20663/20664 Mysuru - Chennai Central Vande Bharat Express
8 20677/20678 Chennai Central - Narsapur Vande Bharat Express
To cater to the increasing passenger traffic, rakes of the following Vande Bharat services, catering
Southern Railways, have been augmented, as under:-
SN. Train Number and Name Initial Load Augmented Load
( No. of coaches) ( No. of coaches)
1 20633/34 Kasargod - Thiruvananthpuram 16 20
Central Vande Bharat Express
2 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli 8 20
Vande Bharat Express
3 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil 16 20
Vande Bharat Express
4 20631/20632 Mangluru - 8 20
Thiruvananthapuram Central Vande Bharat
Express
5 20671/20672 Madurai - Bengaluru 8 16
Cantonment Vande Bharat Express
Besides, introduction of train services, including Vande Bharat services and its variants, on any
route/section, is an on-going process, which depends on various factors including:
§● 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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