/
Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat sleeper to be flagged off on 1 November: route, timings, coaches and fares
India's second Vande Bharat sleeper is due to be flagged off between Bengaluru and Mumbai on 1 November, cutting the journey to about 16 hours. It has 16 coaches and 823 berths in three AC classes. Timings are proposed and fares are not yet official.
A
3 min
The Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat sleeper is due to be flagged off on 1 November, which is Karnataka Rajyotsava, and will cut the journey between the two cities to about 16 hours. It will be India's second Vande Bharat sleeper train, after the Howrah-Kamakhya service that began in January. Regular passenger services are expected from 2 November, six days a week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw are expected to inaugurate it, according to reports. The timings and stops below are proposed and not final, and the date itself is described as tentative in some listings.
Route, stops and timings
The train will run between Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai, a distance of about 1,100 km through Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The expected halts are Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan.
| Direction | Departs | Arrives | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru to Mumbai | 7:50 pm | 11:55 am next day | About 16 hours |
| Mumbai to Bengaluru | 8:10 pm | 11:55 am next day | About 15 hours 45 minutes |
An earlier estimate had the train leaving Bengaluru at 10 pm and reaching Mumbai at 1:50 pm, so the final schedule may change. Passengers should check the timetable that Indian Railways releases and the announcements of the zonal railway before booking.
The saving is large. The Udyan Express, one of the direct trains on the route, takes 22 to 24 hours, so the new train saves about six hours or more. Listings put its maximum permitted speed at 130 km an hour and its average at about 69 km an hour, with a design speed of 180 km an hour. One listing gives the distance as 1,095 km and the journey as 16 hours 20 minutes, under train numbers 27651 and 27652, and records the service as approved on 2 October.
The train itself is built for overnight travel. A rake has 16 coaches and 823 berths: one AC First Class coach with 24 berths, four AC Two-Tier coaches with 188 and 11 AC Three-Tier coaches with 611. The trainsets are electric multiple units designed and built in India, and the first prototype was rolled out by BEML in 2024. On board are charging points, reading lights, CCTV, automatic doors, bio-vacuum toilets, sensor-based taps, a passenger information system, Wi-Fi and smoke alarms, and the Kavach train protection system and emergency talk-back units. Catering offers vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals.
Fares and booking
Fares have not been officially announced, and the structure will follow Indian Railways' announcement. One report puts indicative fares from Rs 2,684. The first Vande Bharat sleeper gives a guide to how the fares are built: up to 400 km, the Howrah-Kamakhya fares were Rs 960 in AC Three-Tier, Rs 1,240 in AC Two-Tier and Rs 1,520 in AC First Class, rising in bands with distance, and the fare is higher than a Rajdhani's. Treat any figure for Bengaluru-Mumbai as an estimate until the railways publish the table.
On that first train, only confirmed tickets are sold, with no RAC and no waiting list, and all berths are released on the first day of the advance reservation period. There are quotas for women, senior citizens and passengers with disabilities. Free luggage is 70 kg in First AC, 50 kg in Second AC and 40 kg in Third AC. The same rules are likely to apply on this train, but they have not been confirmed for it.
The Bengaluru-Mumbai corridor links two of India's biggest cities, and the existing trains take most of a day. A sleeper that leaves in the evening and arrives before noon is built to compete with the overnight flight and the long-distance bus. The Howrah-Kamakhya service, which began on 17 January, covers about 968 km in 14 hours, and the railways plan to add further sleeper services on other long routes.
Passengers planning to travel in the first week should watch for the booking opening date, the final stop list and the fare chart, none of which has been officially published.
A
3 min
What did you think?
