One more Vande Bharat sleeper train for Kerala? Busy route being considered

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sleeper edition of the new generation train of the Indian Railways, Vande Bharat, will start service this year itself. It has been confirmed that the first route of the 16-raked train will be in North India. The first of the ten sleeper trains will be given to the Northern Railway. It is reported that one of the remaining nine trains will be given to the Southern Railway.

Railway sources indicate that the train that will be given to the Southern Railway will operate in Kerala. This train will run on the Thiruvananthapuram Central - Mangalore route. Six trains operate on the Thiruvananthapuram - Mangalore route daily (Maveli, Malabar, Mangalore \ Trivandrum Expresses) during the night. Yet, tickets are not available on this route on most days.

The reason behind considering this route is that if one of the Vande Bharat sleeper trains with state-of-the-art facilities is allowed on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore route, it will be a huge hit. There are also possibilities for the Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru and Kanyakumari-Srinagar (via Konkan) routes to connect other zones. 10 rakes with 16 coaches are being converted into sleepers. In addition to the 10 Vande Sleepers, the Chennai Integral Coach Factory has received an order to manufacture 50 more. These will be launched in 2026-27.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced that the first Vande Bharat Sleeper will start service in 2025 itself. The train will start commercial service for the public after a two-month trial run. U Subba Rao, general manager of Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, had said that the train will be put into commercial service after a two-month trial run.

The sleeper train is being considered for journeys of 800 to 1,200 km. The Vande Bharat Sleeper trains have a total capacity of 823 passengers, including 11 three-tier AC coaches, 4 two-tier AC coaches and one first-class coach. Kerala is hoping to get one of the ten trains with the announcement that they will be launched next year. The Vande Bharat chair cars have been a huge hit, which is a factor that gives hope to Kerala.

The train also has facilities like a collision avoidance system, and an emergency talk back unit to the driver's cabin. Bio-vacuum toilets, hot water bathing facilities, CCTV and passenger announcement system are some of the special features of the Vande Bharat sleeper train.