**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer provided by the Minister of Railways on February 4, 2026, to questions raised in Lok Sabha regarding the operational routes, expansion, improvements, and assessment of Vande Bharat Express Trains in India. It outlines the features of Vande Bharat trains and lists existing services as of January 30, 2026. The document also highlights the factors influencing the replacement of existing services and the overall occupancy of these trains.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Vande Bharat Train Features:**
* Fitted with KAVACH safety system.
* Jerk-free semi-permanent couplers.
* Centrally controlled automatic plug doors and fully sealed wider gangways.
* Emergency alarm push buttons and talk-back units on all coaches.
* Improved fire safety using aerosol-based fire detection.
* Higher acceleration with a design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH.
* Driver-Guard communication with voice recording and crash-hardened memory.
* Air conditioning with indigenously developed UV-C lamp-based disinfection.
* Improved ride comfort.
* CCTVs in all coaches.
* Special lavatories for Divyangjan passengers in driving coaches.
* Coach Condition Monitoring System (CCMS) with remote monitoring.
* **Vande Bharat Services (as of January 30, 2026):**
* Two Vande Bharat Sleeper Express services.
* 164 Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car).
* Lists specific train numbers and routes for both Sleeper and Chair Car services.
* Eight Chair Car services cater to stations in Punjab.
* Two Chair Car services cater to stations in Haryana.
* Sixteen Chair Car services cater to stations in Tamil Nadu.
* **Service Replacement Factors:**
* Introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat sleeper services, replacement/discontinuation of existing services is an on-going process.
* Capacity of the section.
* Availability of path.
* Availability of required rolling stock.
* Availability of matching infrastructure.
* Maintenance requirements of railway tracks and other assets.
* Occupancy and traffic requirements.
* **Occupancy:**
* Overall occupancy of Vande Bharat Express trains during 2024-2025 was approximately 100%.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Indian Railways**
* **Impact:** The Indian Railways is tasked with operating and expanding the Vande Bharat train network. They also must make decisions about replacing existing trains with Vande Bharat services.
* **Action Required:** Assess network capacity, infrastructure, and operational requirements to plan expansion and replacements, and ensure safety features are maintained.
**Stakeholder: Passengers**
* **Impact:** Passengers benefit from improved travel experience with modern coaches, advanced safety features, and amenities. Passengers may see changes to existing train services as Vande Bharat trains are introduced.
* **Action Required:** Be aware of new and modified train routes and services, and familiarize themselves with the features and amenities available on Vande Bharat trains.
**Stakeholder: Government**
* **Impact:** The Government is responsible for addressing concerns about the operational efficiency and profitability of high-speed trains, as well as ensuring the financial viability of infrastructure projects.
* **Action Required:** Review the data and address areas for improvement and further expansion.
Key Entities Referenced
Vande Bharat Express Trains: A new class of indigenously designed and manufactured high-speed trains in India. The policy discusses their operational routes, expansion plans, improvements in facilities, occupancy rates, and potential replacement of other trains.
Indian Railways: The primary entity responsible for the introduction, operation, and improvement of Vande Bharat trains. The policy outlines the ministry's plans and considerations related to these trains.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 799
TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026
VANDE BHARAT TRAINS OPERATIONAL IN THE COUNTRY
799. SHRI DEEPENDER SINGH HOODA:
DR. RAJ KUMAR CHABBEWAL:
DR. M K VISHNU PRASAD:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the details of operational routes of Vande Bharat Express Trains in the
country;
(b) whether Government is planning to expand the network of Vande Bharat
Express Trains within the country particularly in Punjab, Tamil Nadu
including the trains originating/terminating in Haryana, if so, the details
thereof;
(c) if so, the details and the timeline by when it is likely to be operated;
(d) whether the Government is taking any measures to further improve the
facilities in these Vande Bharat trains in the country and if so, the
details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(e) the details of the average occupancy rate and passenger load factor of
these trains since their introduction, route-wise;
(f) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of their
operational efficiency and profitability in comparison to other express
or semi-high-speed trains, if so, the details thereof;
(g) whether the Government proposes to phase out or replace existing mail,
express, or Shatabdi trains with Vande Bharat services, if so, the
details thereof; and
(h) the criteria for such replacement, including passenger demand and
financial viability?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (h) 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 new Vande Bharat Trains have following
features:(a) Fitted with KAVACH.
(b) Jerk Free Semi-Permanent couplers.
(c) Centrally controlled Automatic Plug Doors and Fully Sealed wider
gangways.
(d) Emergency Alarm Push buttons and Talk Back Units on all
Coaches.
(e) Improved fire safety – Aerosol based fire detection and
suppression system in electrical cabinets and lavatories.
(f) Higher acceleration with design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH.
(g) Driver-Guard communication with voice recording facility & Crash
hardened memory.
(h) Air conditioning units with indigenously developed UV-C lamp
based disinfection system.
(i) Better Ride Comfort.
(j) CCTVs in all Coaches.
(k) For Divyangjan passengers special lavatory in the driving coaches
on each end.
(l) Coach condition monitoring System (CCMS) display with remote
monitoring.
(m) However, as the railway network straddles across State
boundaries, trains are introduced across such boundaries as per
network requirement.
As on 30.01.2026, the following 02 Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and 164
Vande Bharat train services (Chair Car) are being operated on the Indian
Railways network:
Vande Bharat Sleeper Train service:
SN Train No. and Name
1 27575/27576 Howrah - Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper
ExpressVande Bharat (Chair Car) Train service:
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 Express20 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 20979/20980 Jaipur - Udaipur 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 Cantt. 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 Express40 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 20981/20982 Agra cantt. - Udaipur Vande Bharat Express
54 20627/20628 Nagercoil - Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express
55 20671/20672 Bengaluru Cantt - Madurai Vande Bharat Express
56 22500/22499 Deoghar - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express
57 22309/22310 Jamalpur - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
58 20871/20872 Rourkela - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
59 20893/20894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
60 20892/20891 Tatanagar - Brahmapur Vande Bharat Express
61 22303/22304 Gaya - Howrah Vande Bharat Express
62 20669/20670 Pune - Hubballi Vande Bharat Express63 20673/20674 Pune - Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (T) Vande
Bharat Express
64 20101/20102 Secunderabad - Nagpur Vande Bharat Express
65 20829/20830 Visakhapatnam - Durg Vande Bharat Express
66 21893/21894 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
67 21895/21896 Patna - Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express
68 20176/20175 Banaras - Agra Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
69 26901/26902 Veraval - Sabarmati Vande Bharat Express
70 26401/26402 Srinagar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande
Bharat Express
71 26403/26404 Srinagar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande
Bharat Express
72 26502/26501 Patliputra - Gorakhpur Vande Bharat Express
73 26751/26752 KSR Bengaluru - Belagavi Vande Bharat Express
74 26406/26405 Amritsar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande
Bharat Express
75 26101/26102 Pune - Ajni Vande Bharat Express
76 26302/26301 Jogbani - Danapur Vande Bharat Express
77 26481/26482 Delhi Cantt - Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express
78 26471/26472 Delhi Cantt - Bikaner Vande Bharat Express
79 26462/26461 Delhi - Firozpur Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
80 26651/26652 Ernakulam - KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat
Express
81 26506/26505 Khajuraho - Banaras Vande Bharat Express
82 26504/26503 Saharanpur - Gomtinagar Vande Bharat Express
Further, of these 164 Vande Bharat Chair Car services, 08 services (on
orignating/terminating basis) are catering to the stations located in theState of Punjab, 02 services are catering to the stations located in the
State of Haryana, while 16 services are catering to the stations located in
the State of Tamil Nadu, as under:
Vande Bharat services catering the stations located in Punjab
SN Train No. and Name
1 20977/20978 Chandigarh. - Ajmer Vande Bharat Express
2. 22487/22488 Amritsar - Delhi Vande Bharat Express
3. 26406/26405 Amritsar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande
Bharat Express
4. 26462/26461 Delhi - Firozpur Cantt Vande Bharat Express
Vande Bharat services catering the stations located in Haryana
SN Train No. and Name
1. 20977/20978 Chandigarh - Ajmer Vande Bharat Express
Vande Bharat services catering the stations located inTamil Nadu:
SN Train No. and Name
1. 20671/20672 Madurai - Bengaluru Cantt. Vande Bharat Express
2. 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express
3. 20663/20664 Mysuru - MGR Chennai Central Vande Bharat
Express
4. 20642/20641 Coimbatore - Bengaluru Cantt. Vande Bharat
Express
5. 20665/20666 Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli Vande Bharat Express
6. 20677/20678 MGR Chennai Central - Narasapur Vande Bharat
Express
7. 20643/20644 MGR Chennai Central - Coimbatore Vande Bharat
Express
8. 20607/20608 MGR Chennai Central - Mysuru Vande Bharat
ExpressBesides, introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat sleeper
services, replacement/discontinuation of existing 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.
The overall occupancy of Vande Bharat Express trains during 2024-2025
was about 100%.
*****