New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Sleeper Express: After the success of the Howrah-Kamakhya route, Indian Railways is set to introduce the Vande Bharat Sleeper train between New Delhi and Varanasi. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are expected to flag off the train from Varanasi. The semi-high-speed train is expected to transform overnight travel between the two cities amid the ongoing festive season, with Diwali and Chhath fast approaching.
The new train service between the two cities is expected to be operational six days a week. The commercial circular on fares is yet to be issued. Two MEMU services, one linking Varanasi with Prayagraj Rambagh and the other Varanasi City with Raja Talab, will start the same day. Apart from the Varanasi-Delhi Vande Bharat sleeper train, the highly anticipated Bengaluru-Mumbai route is also expected to be inaugurated early next month. Vaishnaw had approved the route a little over six months ago, and final preparations are underway before it will be opened to the public. This performance highlighted high demand and strong passenger trust in premium overnight rail services.
Train number 27421 will depart from Varanasi at 8:50 pm and reach Delhi at 5:55 am the next day. As for train number 27422, it will leave New Delhi at 9:40 pm and reach Varanasi at 6:45 am the following day. The train has 16 coaches and offers three classes of accommodation: Third AC, Second AC, and First AC. The train will run via Kanpur Central and cover the 760 km journey in nine hours and 30 minutes. Launched on the New Delhi-Varanasi route in February 2019, the Vande Bharat trains have served over 9.1 crore passengers through one lakh trips. In FY25-25 alone, approximately 3.98 crore passengers availed the service, reflecting a robust year-on-year growth of nearly 34 per cent from 2.97 crore passengers in FY 2024-25. In its first 119 trips over three months, the Kamakhya-Howrah Vande Bharat sleeper service achieved over 100 per cent occupancy, carrying 1.21 lakh passengers.
An official said charges are likely to be a little above those of other trains on the route, reflecting the amenities provided.
