Vande Bharat sleeper: Ashwini Vaishnaw inspects new trainset

Vande Bharat sleeper

update: Railway Minister

Ashwini Vaishnaw

on Saturday inaugurated the carbody structure of the Vande Bharat sleeper transit which is currently being manufactured by

BEML

. With Vande Bharat Sleeper trains,

Indian Railways

aims to set a new benchmark in passenger comfort in overnight travel.
TOI had in October 2023 reported that the production of the first Vande Bharat Express sleeper prototype has started at the BEML facility in Bengaluru.

Vande Bharat sleeper train will be self-propelled train set with features superior to the Rajdhani Express trains, which are the premium standard of overnight travel on Indian Railways at present.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier in the year said that plans are in place for the production of 10 Vande Bharat sleeper train sets. Apart from the 10 train sets that will be manufactured by BEML, other Vande Bharat sleeper projects are also in the works.
With speeds of 160 kmph, and faster acceleration and deceleration, Vande Bharat sleeper trains will aim tor reduce travel time significantly on high density popular routes of Indian Railways.

The first prototype Vande Bharat sleeper train set will have 11 AC 3 tier coaches, 4 AC 2 tier coaches and 1 AC 1st coach. In January this year, TOI had exclusively reported that the train will have passenger friendly features like; more comfortable berths with better cushioning than Rajdhani Express trains, sensor-based lighting in common areas, jerk-free rides with better couplers, better night lighting on floor via strips for easy movement in aisle area of coaches.

The train will make use of better designed ladder for ease of climbing on to the upper berths. Additionally, colors of cream, yellow and wood have been used in the interior for a superior ambient feel.
Other salient features of the Vande Bharat sleeper train include: