Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper Express flagged off
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the new sleeper service on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper Express from Varanasi on Saturday, October 31.
The service, operated by the Northern Railway zone, will travel 759 km via Kanpur Central. During the journey, the train will stop at Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Aligarh, and Ghaziabad.
The 16-coach train, developed by BEML using technology from the Integral Coach Factory, includes First AC, Second AC, and Third AC categories. It features a passenger capacity of 823.
The inaugural special, train number 02527, departed Varanasi at 16:15 hrs on October 31 and reached New Delhi at 02:00 hrs on November 1. The Railway Board previously approved the service.
The service will run six days a week, with the Varanasi-bound train not running on Saturdays and the New Delhi-bound train not running on Fridays.
The train includes features such as the Train Collision Avoidance System, automatic doors, and onboard Wi-Fi. The Railway Ministry stated the service will save 55 minutes on the Varanasi-New Delhi journey compared to the Shiv Ganga Express.