How Many Vande Bharat Trains Are There in India in 2026?
India runs 164 Vande Bharat train services in 2026: 162 chair car services (81 pairs) and 2 Vande Bharat Sleeper services (1 pair), which makes 82 pairs in all. This is the official figure the Railway Minister, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, gave in a written Lok Sabha reply published by PIB on 23 July 2026 (PIB release 2288381). The PIB backgrounder of 12 August 2026 repeats the same count: "162 Vande Bharat, 2 Vande Bharat Sleeper Services" (PIB 2298526).
The first Vande Bharat Express ran on 15 February 2019 on the New Delhi–Kanpur–Prayagraj–Varanasi corridor (train 22435/22436). The first Vande Bharat Sleeper is 27575/27576 Howrah–Kamakhya, in regular service from 22 January 2026.
Key takeaway for exams: 164 services = 162 chair car + 2 sleeper = 82 pairs (PIB, 23 July 2026). First VB = 15 Feb 2019, New Delhi–Varanasi (22435/22436). First VB Sleeper = Howrah–Kamakhya (27575/27576), regular from 22 Jan 2026. Design speed 180 km/h, operating speed 160 km/h. All VB trains are fitted with Kavach.
This page is an evergreen list. We update it whenever the Railway Ministry publishes a new official count; the date of each figure is written next to it.
Vande Bharat Express 2026: Quick Facts Table
| Fact | Answer (source) |
|---|---|
| Total Vande Bharat services | 164 (162 chair car + 2 sleeper), PIB 23.07.2026 |
| Pairs of trains | 82 (81 chair car + 1 sleeper) |
| First Vande Bharat Express | 15 February 2019, New Delhi–Kanpur–Prayagraj–Varanasi |
| First Vande Bharat 2.0 | 30 September 2022, Gandhinagar–Mumbai Central (PIB backgrounder, 16 Jan 2026) |
| First Vande Bharat Sleeper | 27575/27576 Howrah–Kamakhya, regular from 22.01.2026 |
| Design / operating speed | 180 / 160 km/h |
| Safety system | Kavach (indigenous Automatic Train Protection) |
| Districts served (Dec 2025) | 274 districts; over 7.5 crore passengers carried (PIB backgrounder) |
| Coach factory | Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, built the first trainsets |
| Hydrogen train (not VB) | "NaMo Green Rail", launched 17.07.2026, 10 coaches, 2,400 kW |
Complete List of Vande Bharat Express Trains 2026 (Chair Car, 81 Pairs)
The table below is the official list of 81 pairs of chair car Vande Bharat services, in the order printed in the Railway Ministry's Lok Sabha reply of 23 July 2026 (PIB 2288381). Station names are written in full (for example "CSMT Mumbai" for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus).
| S.No. | Train No. | Vande Bharat Express (route) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22435/22436 | Varanasi - New Delhi |
| 2 | 22439/22440 | New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra |
| 3 | 20901/20902 | Mumbai Central - Gandhinagar Capital |
| 4 | 22447/22448 | New Delhi - Amb Andaura |
| 5 | 20607/20608 | MGR Chennai Central - Mysuru |
| 6 | 20825/20826 | Bilaspur - Nagpur |
| 7 | 22301/22302 | Howrah - New Jalpaiguri |
| 8 | 20833/20834 | Visakhapatnam - Secunderabad |
| 9 | 22223/22224 | CSMT Mumbai - Sainagar Shirdi |
| 10 | 22225/22226 | CSMT Mumbai - Solapur |
| 11 | 20171/20172 | Rani Kamlapati - Hazrat Nizamuddin |
| 12 | 20701/20702 | Secunderabad - Tirupati |
| 13 | 20643/20644 | Chennai - Coimbatore |
| 14 | 20977/20978 | Ajmer - Chandigarh |
| 15 | 20633/20634 | Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram |
| 16 | 22895/22896 | Howrah - Puri |
| 17 | 22457/22458 | Anand Vihar - Dehradun |
| 18 | 22227/22228 | New Jalpaiguri - Guwahati |
| 19 | 20911/20912 | Indore - Nagpur |
| 20 | 22229/22230 | CSMT Mumbai - Madgaon |
| 21 | 22349/22350 | Patna - Ranchi |
| 22 | 20661/20662 | Bengaluru - Dharwad |
| 23 | 20173/20174 | Rani Kamlapati - Rewa |
| 24 | 22549/22550 | Gorakhpur - Prayagraj |
| 25 | 12461/12462 | Jodhpur - Sabarmati |
| 26 | 22925/22926 | Ahmedabad - Okha |
| 27 | 20665/20666 | Chennai Egmore - Tirunelveli |
| 28 | 20677/20678 | Chennai - Narsapur |
| 29 | 20703/20704 | Kacheguda - Yesvantpur |
| 30 | 20631/20632 | Mangaluru - Thiruvananthapuram Central |
| 31 | 26963/26964 | Udaipur - Asarva (replaced by 26903/26904 Surat - Udaipur City from October 2026, see below) |
| 32 | 22347/22348 | Howrah - Patna |
| 33 | 20835/20836 | Rourkela - Puri |
| 34 | 20897/20898 | Howrah - Ranchi |
| 35 | 22415/22416 | Varanasi - New Delhi |
| 36 | 20641/20642 | Bengaluru Cantt. - Coimbatore |
| 37 | 20645/20646 | Madgaon - Mangaluru |
| 38 | 20705/20706 | Nanded - CSMT Mumbai |
| 39 | 22477/22478 | New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra |
| 40 | 22425/22426 | Ayodhya Cantt. - Anand Vihar |
| 41 | 22487/22488 | Delhi - Amritsar |
| 42 | 22961/22962 | Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad |
| 43 | 20707/20708 | Secunderabad - Visakhapatnam |
| 44 | 20663/20664 | Mysuru - Chennai |
| 45 | 22233/22234 | New Jalpaiguri - Patna |
| 46 | 22469/22470 | Khajuraho - Hazrat Nizamuddin |
| 47 | 22231/22232 | Kalaburagi - Bengaluru |
| 48 | 20841/20842 | Bhubaneswar - Visakhapatnam |
| 49 | 22345/22346 | Patna - Gomti Nagar |
| 50 | 20887/20888 | Ranchi - Varanasi |
| 51 | 22545/22546 | Lucknow Jn - Dehradun |
| 52 | 22489/22490 | Varanasi - Meerut City |
| 53 | 20627/20628 | Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil |
| 54 | 20671/20672 | Madurai - Bengaluru Cantt. |
| 55 | 22499/22500 | Deoghar - Varanasi |
| 56 | 22309/22310 | Howrah - Jamalpur |
| 57 | 20871/20872 | Howrah - Rourkela |
| 58 | 20893/20894 | Tatanagar - Patna |
| 59 | 20891/20892 | Tatanagar - Brahmapur |
| 60 | 22303/22304 | Howrah - Gaya |
| 61 | 20669/20670 | Hubballi - Pune |
| 62 | 20673/20674 | Kolhapur (Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj T) - Pune |
| 63 | 20101/20102 | Secunderabad - Nagpur |
| 64 | 20829/20830 | Durg - Visakhapatnam |
| 65 | 21893/21894 | Tatanagar - Patna |
| 66 | 21895/21896 | Tatanagar - Patna |
| 67 | 20175/20176 | Banaras - Agra Cantt. |
| 68 | 26901/26902 | Sabarmati - Veraval |
| 69 | 26401/26402 | Jammu Tawi - Srinagar |
| 70 | 26403/26404 | Jammu Tawi - Srinagar |
| 71 | 26501/26502 | Patliputra - Gorakhpur |
| 72 | 26751/26752 | Belagavi - KSR Bengaluru |
| 73 | 26405/26406 | Amritsar - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra |
| 74 | 26101/26102 | Pune - Ajni (Nagpur) |
| 75 | 26301/26302 | Jogbani - Danapur |
| 76 | 26481/26482 | Jodhpur - Delhi Cantt. |
| 77 | 26471/26472 | Bikaner - Delhi Cantt. |
| 78 | 26461/26462 | Delhi - Firozpur Cantt. |
| 79 | 26651/26652 | KSR Bengaluru - Ernakulam |
| 80 | 26505/26506 | Khajuraho - Banaras |
| 81 | 26503/26504 | Saharanpur - Gomti Nagar |
Note that some routes have two pairs: Varanasi–New Delhi (22435/22436 and 22415/22416), New Delhi–Katra (22439/22440 and 22477/22478), Jammu Tawi–Srinagar (26401/26402 and 26403/26404) and Tatanagar–Patna (20893/20894, 21893/21894 and 21895/21896).
Vande Bharat Sleeper Train List 2026
| Train No. | Route | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 27575/27576 | Howrah – Kamakhya (Guwahati) | Regular from 22 January 2026 (PIB). First Vande Bharat Sleeper in India |
The first sleeper was flagged off on 17 January 2026 and covers about 972 km in around 14 hours (The Hindu, 20 Oct 2026). A 16-coach sleeper rake has 823 berths: 11 AC 3-tier coaches (611 berths), 4 AC 2-tier (188) and 1 AC First Class (24), as reported by The Hindu from Railway Board documents.
Upcoming Vande Bharat Sleeper trains (expected, not yet official)
- Bengaluru–Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper (27652/27651): expected launch on 1 November 2026, via Dharmavaram, Guntakal, Raichur, Wadi, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan. The Hindu reports that the Railway Board has approved it; the formal notification was still awaited on 20 October 2026.
- A sleeper Vande Bharat from Varanasi (Banaras): Dainik Jagran (22 October 2026) reports that the Railway Minister will flag off four trains including a sleeper Vande Bharat from Banaras on 31 October 2026. The route is not officially notified yet.
We will add these to the table only after they enter regular service.
Latest Vande Bharat Changes After July 2026
- Surat–Udaipur City Vande Bharat (26903/26904): the Railway Board approved this 8-car, six-days-a-week service on 31 August 2026 and approved discontinuing 26963/26964 Udaipur City–Asarva at the same time (Business Today, 3 Sep 2026). It covers about 690 km in 7 h 30 min and began regular runs in early October 2026. So the pair count stays the same: one route replaced another.
- Ernakulam–KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat got extra coaches in August 2026 (news reports); the train itself is already in the list (S.No. 79).
Vande Bharat Trains State-Wise: Useful Exam Picks
| State / UT | Vande Bharat routes to remember (from the official list) |
|---|---|
| Himachal Pradesh | 22447/22448 New Delhi – Amb Andaura (Una district), the only VB that enters Himachal |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 26401-26404 Jammu Tawi – Srinagar (two pairs); New Delhi / Amritsar – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra |
| Punjab | Delhi – Amritsar; Delhi – Firozpur Cantt.; Amritsar – Katra |
| Uttarakhand | Anand Vihar – Dehradun; Lucknow – Dehradun |
| Goa | CSMT Mumbai – Madgaon; Madgaon – Mangaluru |
| Kerala | Kasaragod – Thiruvananthapuram; Mangaluru – Thiruvananthapuram; KSR Bengaluru – Ernakulam |
| Odisha | Howrah – Puri; Rourkela – Puri; Bhubaneswar – Visakhapatnam; Tatanagar – Brahmapur |
| Assam (North-East) | New Jalpaiguri – Guwahati; Howrah – Kamakhya (Sleeper) |
| Gujarat | Mumbai Central – Gandhinagar; Mumbai Central – Ahmedabad; Ahmedabad – Okha; Sabarmati – Veraval; Surat – Udaipur City |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer – Chandigarh; Jodhpur – Sabarmati; Jodhpur – Delhi Cantt.; Bikaner – Delhi Cantt. |
Features of Vande Bharat Express (Official List)
The Railway Ministry's reply lists these features for the chair car trains:
- Jerk-free semi-permanent couplers.
- Kavach fitted.
- Centrally controlled automatic plug doors and fully sealed wider gangways.
- Emergency alarm push buttons and talk-back units in all coaches.
- Aerosol-based fire detection and suppression in electrical cabinets and lavatories.
- Higher acceleration, with a design/operating speed of 180/160 km/h.
- Driver-guard communication with voice recording and crash-hardened memory.
- UV-C lamp based disinfection in the AC units (deactivates 99% of harmful bacteria).
- CCTV in all coaches, and special lavatories for Divyangjan in the driving coaches.
- Coach Condition Monitoring System (CCMS) with remote monitoring.
The sleeper version adds crashworthy car bodies (EN standards), fire barrier doors, regenerative braking and ergonomic ladders for upper berths.
Vande Bharat vs Amrit Bharat vs Namo Bharat Rapid Rail
| Train | Type | Count (PIB, 23.07.2026) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vande Bharat (chair car) | Fully AC, semi-high speed, day journeys | 162 services (81 pairs) | 22435/22436 Varanasi–New Delhi |
| Vande Bharat Sleeper | Fully AC, overnight | 2 services (1 pair) | 27575/27576 Howrah–Kamakhya |
| Amrit Bharat Express | Non-AC, push-pull, for low and middle income families | 72 services (36 pairs) | 11015/11016 LTT–Saharsa |
| Namo Bharat Rapid Rail | Fully AC inter-city short distance (earlier called Vande Metro) | 2 pairs | 94801/94802 Ahmedabad–Bhuj; 94803/94804 Jaynagar–Patna |
An Amrit Bharat rake has 11 General, 8 Sleeper, 1 Pantry and 2 Luggage-cum-Divyangjan coaches (PIB). Do not confuse Namo Bharat Rapid Rail (Indian Railways) with the Namo Bharat RRTS trains of the Delhi–Meerut corridor run by NCRTC.
Common Mistakes in Vande Bharat Questions
- 164 is services, not trains. 164 services = 82 pairs. A question asking for "pairs" wants 82 (or 81 for chair car only).
- The first VB ran from New Delhi to Varanasi, not Delhi–Katra. Katra was the second route.
- The first sleeper is Howrah–Kamakhya, not Delhi–Mumbai or Bengaluru–Mumbai.
- Operating speed is 160 km/h; 180 km/h is the design speed.
- "Train 18" was the original name of the first trainset, because it was built in 2018 at ICF Chennai.
Vande Bharat Express MCQs (Practice Set with Answers)
- According to the Railway Ministry's reply of July 2026, how many Vande Bharat services run in India? Answer: 164 (162 chair car + 2 sleeper).
- When did the first Vande Bharat Express start? Answer: 15 February 2019.
- The first Vande Bharat Express ran on which corridor? Answer: New Delhi–Kanpur–Prayagraj–Varanasi.
- Which is India's first Vande Bharat Sleeper train? Answer: Howrah–Kamakhya (27575/27576).
- From which date did the first Vande Bharat Sleeper start regular operation? Answer: 22 January 2026.
- What is the operating speed of Vande Bharat trains? Answer: 160 km/h (design speed 180 km/h).
- Which indigenous safety system is fitted on all Vande Bharat trains? Answer: Kavach.
- Which Vande Bharat Express serves Himachal Pradesh? Answer: New Delhi–Amb Andaura (22447/22448).
- The first Vande Bharat 2.0 ran on which route? Answer: Gandhinagar–Mumbai Central (30 September 2022).
- How many pairs of Amrit Bharat Express trains were running as per the July 2026 reply? Answer: 36 pairs (72 services).
- What is the name of India's first hydrogen train, launched on 17 July 2026? Answer: NaMo Green Rail.
- Which new Vande Bharat replaced the Udaipur City–Asarva service in 2026? Answer: Surat–Udaipur City (26903/26904).
Test yourself in timed mode: RRB Group D Railway GK Quiz 01, RRB NTPC GK Mini Mock Test 01 and SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01.
Vande Bharat Express FAQs
How many Vande Bharat trains are there in India in 2026?
164 services: 162 chair car services (81 pairs) and 2 sleeper services (1 pair), as per the Railway Ministry's Lok Sabha reply published by PIB on 23 July 2026.
Which was the first Vande Bharat train in India?
The New Delhi–Varanasi Vande Bharat Express (22435/22436), which started on 15 February 2019 via Kanpur and Prayagraj.
Which is the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train?
27575/27576 Howrah–Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, in regular operation from 22 January 2026.
What is the top speed of Vande Bharat Express?
It is designed for 180 km/h and operates at up to 160 km/h, as per the Railway Ministry.
Is there a Vande Bharat train in Himachal Pradesh?
Yes. 22447/22448 New Delhi–Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express runs to Amb Andaura in Una district.
Where are Vande Bharat trains manufactured?
The first trainsets were built at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, under Make in India. Sleeper trainsets are being built with partners such as BEML.
When will the Bengaluru–Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper start?
It is expected on 1 November 2026 as per The Hindu (20 October 2026), but the Railway Board's formal notification was still awaited. Treat the date as expected, not final.
Practice Next
- Related notes: Indian railway zones and headquarters, first in India list, Himachal Pradesh GK and states and capitals of India 2026.
- Mock tests: RRB Group D Railway GK Quiz 02, RRB NTPC General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01 and SSC CHSL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01.
- Exam details: RRB NTPC 2026 and SSC CGL 2026.
- Browse all study notes.