Vande Bharat Speed: Top Speed, Average Speed and Fastest Routes

Vande Bharat has a design speed of 180 km/h and a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h, according to the Ministry of Railways. Its real average speed, including stops, is much lower: about 59 to 99 km/h on the 52 Vande Bharat trains we track. The fastest on average is the Mumbai CSMT–Madgaon (Goa) Vande Bharat 22229, at 98.7 km/h over 765 km.

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The difference between top speed and average speed is the most common source of confusion about how fast Vande Bharat really is. This guide explains both, ranks the fastest routes and lists the longest.

Vande Bharat Express top speed

Measure Speed What it means
Design speed 180 km/h The speed the train was built and tested for
Maximum operating speed 160 km/h The highest speed allowed in passenger service
Section speed Varies The limit set for each stretch of track

Source: Ministry of Railways via PIB

So the answer to “What is the top speed of Vande Bharat?” is 160 km/h in service and 180 km/h by design. A Vande Bharat only reaches 160 km/h on sections of track cleared for that speed. On most routes, large parts of the line have lower limits.

Average speed: how fast is Vande Bharat really?

Average speed is the full distance divided by the full scheduled journey time, stops included. It is the number that tells you how long your trip will take.

We worked out the average speed of every Vande Bharat train in our checked timetables: 46 Chair Car trains and 6 Sleeper trains, 52 in all. That is the busiest routes plus all trains from Mumbai, Howrah and Tamil Nadu, not the whole network of 168 train services, so a faster train elsewhere is possible.

The 10 fastest Vande Bharat trains we track

# Train Route Distance Time Average speed
1 22229 Mumbai CSMT → Madgaon 765 km 7 h 45 min 98.7 km/h
2 22230 Madgaon → Mumbai CSMT 765 km 7 h 50 min 97.7 km/h
3 22435 Varanasi Jn → New Delhi 771 km 8 h 96.4 km/h
4 22436 New Delhi → Varanasi Jn 771 km 8 h 96.4 km/h
5 22415 Varanasi Jn → New Delhi 760 km 8 h 5 min 94.0 km/h
6 22416 New Delhi → Varanasi Jn 760 km 8 h 5 min 94.0 km/h
7 22961 Mumbai Central → Ahmedabad 491 km 5 h 30 min 89.3 km/h
8 22962 Ahmedabad → Mumbai Central 491 km 5 h 40 min 86.6 km/h
9 20644 Coimbatore → Chennai Central 497 km 5 h 50 min 85.2 km/h
10 20665 Chennai Egmore → Tirunelveli 653 km 7 h 50 min 83.4 km/h

The fastest Vande Bharat trains in our data all run long routes of 490 km or more. The New Delhi–Varanasi trains stand out for having only two stops, Kanpur Central and Prayagraj Jn, over 760–771 km, which helps them keep a high average. The full ranking is in our Vande Bharat speed calculator.

The slowest we track are Bengaluru Cantonment–Coimbatore (20641/20642) at about 59 km/h and Howrah–Ranchi (20897) at 62.3 km/h. The gap of almost 40 km/h between the fastest and slowest shows how much the route matters.

Why average speed is lower than top speed

Three things pull the average down from 160 km/h:

  1. Section limits. Many stretches of track are cleared for less than 160 km/h, so the train cannot run at top speed there.
  2. Stops. Every stop costs time: slowing down, the halt itself and speeding up again. A route with eight stops loses more time than one with two.
  3. Station approaches and junctions. Trains slow down entering big stations and busy junctions, which on short routes is a large share of the trip.

A worked example: if the Mumbai–Goa Vande Bharat could run its whole 765 km at 160 km/h without stopping, it would take about 4 hours 47 minutes. Its actual timetable is 7 hours 45 minutes, which is an average of 98.7 km/h, the best of all the trains we track.

Vande Bharat Sleeper speed

The overnight Vande Bharat Sleeper trains average lower speeds than the fastest Chair Car trains:

Train Route Distance Time Average
27421 Varanasi Jn → New Delhi 758 km 9 h 20 min 81.2 km/h
27422 New Delhi → Varanasi Jn 758 km 9 h 30 min 79.8 km/h
27651 Mumbai CSMT → SMVT Bengaluru 1,114 km 15 h 50 min 70.4 km/h
27575 Howrah → Kamakhya 966 km 14 h 69.0 km/h

Which is the longest Vande Bharat route?

Among the trains we track, the longest is the Mumbai CSMT–SMVT Bengaluru Vande Bharat Sleeper (27651/27652), at 1,114 km, followed by the Howrah–Kamakhya Sleeper at 966 km. The longest Chair Car route we track is New Delhi–Varanasi (22435/22436), at 771 km, followed closely by Mumbai CSMT–Madgaon at 765 km.

Rank Route Train Distance Type
1 Mumbai CSMT – SMVT Bengaluru 27651 / 27652 1,114 km Sleeper
2 Howrah – Kamakhya 27575 / 27576 966 km Sleeper
3 New Delhi – Varanasi 22435 / 22436 771 km Chair Car
4 Mumbai CSMT – Madgaon 22229 / 22230 765 km Chair Car
5 New Delhi – Varanasi 22415 / 22416 760 km Chair Car

We track 52 of the network’s trains, so a longer Chair Car route elsewhere is possible. We have not found an official national ranking by distance.

The longest Chair Car journey by time in our data is Mumbai CSMT–Nanded (20706), at 9 hours 10 minutes for 610 km.

Where Vande Bharat Express trains run fastest: stop-to-stop speeds

The whole-journey average hides the stretches where a Vande Bharat train really moves. Dividing the distance between two consecutive stops by the scheduled time between them, these are the fastest timetable stretches among the 52 Vande Bharat trains we track:

Vande Bharat train Stretch Distance Scheduled time Average
22895 Howrah – Puri Bhadrakh (BHC) → Jajpur Keonjhar Road (JJKR) 44 km 18 min 146.7 km/h
22229 Mumbai CSMT – Madgaon Ratnagiri (RN) → Kankavali (KKW) 156 km 72 min 130.0 km/h
22230 Madgaon – Mumbai CSMT Kankavali (KKW) → Ratnagiri (RN) 156 km 75 min 124.8 km/h
22230 Madgaon – Mumbai CSMT Thivim (THVM) → Kankavali (KKW) 114 km 56 min 122.1 km/h
22304 Gaya – Howrah Asansol Jn (ASN) → Durgapur (DGR) 42 km 21 min 120.0 km/h
22962 Ahmedabad – Mumbai Central Ahmedabad Jn (ADI) → Vadodara Jn (BRC) 100 km 50 min 120.0 km/h

On the 44 km from Bhadrakh to Jajpur Keonjhar Road, the Howrah–Puri Vande Bharat Express is timetabled at an average close to its 160 km/h operating limit. The Konkan Railway stretches of the Mumbai–Goa Vande Bharat Express explain why it tops the whole-journey ranking. Timetable minutes are rounded and short stretches can exaggerate an average, so read these as scheduled figures, not measured speeds.

The slowest Vande Bharat trains we track

At the other end, three Vande Bharat trains average under 63 km/h over the whole journey:

Vande Bharat train Route Distance Time Average
20641 Bengaluru Cantt (BNC) → Coimbatore Jn (CBE) 376 km 6 h 20 min 59.4 km/h
20642 Coimbatore Jn (CBE) → Bengaluru Cantt (BNC) 377 km 6 h 20 min 59.5 km/h
20897 Howrah Jn (HWH) → Ranchi (RNC) 462 km 7 h 25 min 62.3 km/h

The speed a Vande Bharat Express can reach depends on the section it runs on, not just the train. Check the full list in the Vande Bharat speed ranking tool, and the speed between any two stops with the distance calculator.

Vande Bharat speed FAQs

What is the top speed of Vande Bharat? 160 km/h in passenger service. The train is designed for 180 km/h.

What is the average speed of Vande Bharat? On the 46 Chair Car trains we track, between about 59 and 99 km/h, with an average of 77.2 km/h. It depends on the route and number of stops.

Which is the fastest Vande Bharat? Among the trains we track, the Mumbai CSMT–Madgaon Vande Bharat 22229, at an average of 98.7 km/h.

What is the Vande Bharat speed per hour? It runs at up to 160 km/h on cleared sections. Over a whole journey it covers about 60 to 99 km per hour, stops included.

Which is the longest route of Vande Bharat? Among the trains we track, Mumbai CSMT–SMVT Bengaluru Sleeper at 1,114 km. The longest Chair Car route we track is New Delhi–Varanasi at 771 km.

Is Vande Bharat faster than Shatabdi? On the routes we compared, yes. See Vande Bharat vs Shatabdi.

Which Vande Bharat Express is the slowest? Among the 52 Vande Bharat trains we track, the Bengaluru Cantonment–Coimbatore pair 20641/20642 has the lowest average, about 59 km/h over 376–377 km in 6 hours 20 minutes.

Does Vande Bharat Express run at 160 km/h? Only where the track allows it. Indian Railways operates Vande Bharat trains at up to 160 km/h. On some stretches the timetable comes close: the Howrah–Puri Vande Bharat is scheduled at an average of 146.7 km/h between Bhadrakh and Jajpur Keonjhar Road.

Sources

Design and operating speed: Ministry of Railways via PIB. Distances and journey times: our checked timetables (erail, ConfirmTkt and RailYatri, cross-checked 11 November 2026). Average speed = timetable distance ÷ scheduled journey time. Report a correction.

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