What Is Vande Bharat Express?

That one paragraph answers “what is Vande Bharat train” for most people. The rest of this page explains what makes a Vande Bharat train different from an ordinary express, how many Vande Bharat trains run today, what CC and EC mean, who builds the trains, and the questions people ask most, such as whether Vande Bharat is a private train or a bullet train. Every figure comes from the Ministry of Railways, IRCTC or the Indian Railways design organisation RDSO, and the sources are listed at the end.

Vande Bharat train at a glance

What does “Vande Bharat” mean?

The train was developed at ICF Chennai under the working name Train 18. In January 2019, before its first run, it was renamed Vande Bharat Express. Vande means “I salute” or “I bow to”, and Bharat is India, so the name means roughly “salute to India”. It is the same word that opens Vande Mataram, India’s national song.

That is why “Train 18” and “Vande Bharat” are the same train: Train 18 was the project name and Vande Bharat Express the name it entered service with.

Vande Bharat train or Vande Bharat Express?

They are the same thing. Indian Railways calls the daytime service the Vande Bharat Express, and people search for it as the Vande Bharat train, Vande Bharat trains or simply Vande Bharat. Since January 2026 there is also an overnight version, the Vande Bharat Sleeper, with berths instead of seats. When this site says Vande Bharat Express without “Sleeper”, it means the daytime Chair Car train.

How is a Vande Bharat train different from other trains?

A Vande Bharat Express looks and works differently from the trains most Indians grew up with:

• No engine. A Vande Bharat train has no separate locomotive. It is a trainset: the motors are spread under coaches along the train, and there is a driving cab at each end. At the end of the route the driver simply walks to the other cab, so no engine has to be moved round the train.
• Faster acceleration. The Ministry of Railways gives 0 to 100 km/h in about 52 seconds, which saves time on routes with many stops and speed restrictions.
• Fully air-conditioned and fully reserved. Every coach is AC, and you cannot board with an unreserved ticket.
• Automatic doors and sealed gangways. The doors are centrally controlled plug doors, and the coaches are joined by sealed, wider gangways, so you can walk the length of the train.
• Modern fittings. A charging socket and reading light at every seat, bio-vacuum toilets, CCTV and the Kavach train protection system. See Vande Bharat facilities.
• Optional meals. On Chair Car trains you choose a meal or No Food when you book, and the fare changes to match.

The second-generation trains are also lighter, at 392 tonnes against 430 tonnes for the first Vande Bharat.

How many Vande Bharat trains are there in India?

In November 2026 there were 84 Vande Bharat routes in India: 81 daytime Chair Car routes and 3 overnight Vande Bharat Sleeper routes. Each route is a pair of trains, one in each direction, so that makes 168 Vande Bharat train services, running between cities in 23 states and union territories.

The answer depends on what you count, which is why different sites give different numbers:

• A route is a pair of cities served by Vande Bharat, such as New Delhi – Varanasi. Some routes have more than one pair of trains.
• A service is one train in one direction, with its own number, such as 22435 from Varanasi or 22436 from New Delhi. Two services make one pair.
• A trainset is the physical train. One trainset can run more than one service, so the number of trainsets is different again.

The count keeps rising as new Vande Bharat trains are flagged off. The network reached 75 trains (150 services) in August 2025, according to news reports of the flag-off at the time. The Ministry’s count of Chair Car services was 164 in December 2025 and 162 in July 2026, without a reason given for the drop. The Vande Bharat route list has every route with its train numbers, grouped by state.

What is CC and EC in Vande Bharat?

Vande Bharat Chair Car trains have two classes:

• CC (AC Chair Car) is the standard class. Seats are in rows of five, three on one side of the aisle and two on the other, with 78 seats in a normal coach. Most of the train is CC.
• EC (Executive Chair Car) is the premium class. Seats are in rows of four, two on each side, with more room, and they rotate to face the direction of travel. A train has one or two EC coaches, named E1 and E2.

EC costs about 1.8 to 1.9 times the CC fare: on the Howrah – Puri Vande Bharat Express, ₹1,485 in CC and ₹2,665 in EC with a meal. Compare them in CC vs EC, and see every coach type on the Vande Bharat seat map.

How many coaches does a Vande Bharat have?

A Vande Bharat Chair Car train has 8, 16 or 20 coaches. An 8-coach train has 1 EC and 7 CC coaches with 530 seats; a 16-coach train has 2 EC and 14 CC coaches with 1,128 seats; a 20-coach train has 1,440 seats. The coaches at each end, usually C1 and the last C coach, carry the driver’s cab and have 44 seats instead of 78. The Vande Bharat Sleeper has 16 coaches.

What is the Vande Bharat Sleeper?

The Vande Bharat Sleeper is the overnight version, with berths in 3A, 2A and 1A instead of seats. The first, Howrah – Kamakhya (27575/27576), has run regularly since 22 January 2026, and two more Sleeper routes started in November 2026. A Sleeper train has 16 coaches, 11 in 3A, 4 in 2A and 1 in 1A, for about 823 passengers. It sells confirmed tickets only, has no Tatkal quota and includes food in the fare. See the Vande Bharat Sleeper guide.

Who makes Vande Bharat trains?

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, a production unit of Indian Railways, designed the first Vande Bharat in-house and built it in 18 months, at what the Ministry of Railways called “less than half of global prices”. RDSO, the Research Designs and Standards Organisation of Indian Railways, publishes the trainset’s technical and maintenance manuals, which give the coach and seat figures used on this site. The first Vande Bharat Sleeper prototype was unveiled at BEML in Bengaluru on 1 September 2024. Read the full story in Vande Bharat history.

Is Vande Bharat a private train?

No. Vande Bharat trains are built and run by Indian Railways, which belongs to the Government of India and works under the Ministry of Railways. Each train is run by a railway zone, such as Northern Railway or South Central Railway. IRCTC, which sells the tickets online and serves the meals, is also a government company under the Ministry of Railways.

Is Vande Bharat a bullet train?

No. Vande Bharat is a semi-high-speed train that runs on India’s existing broad-gauge tracks, shared with other trains. A bullet train needs its own dedicated high-speed line; India’s bullet train project is a separate line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Vande Bharat trains are designed for 180 km/h and run at up to 160 km/h.

How fast is Vande Bharat Express?

Vande Bharat has a design speed of 180 km/h and a top speed in service of 160 km/h, according to the Ministry of Railways. On most routes the average speed is much lower, because the track, curves, stations and other traffic limit the speed; where the track allows only 110 or 130 km/h, the Vande Bharat runs at that limit. The fastest Vande Bharat routes and the average speed of each train are in Vande Bharat speed.

Does Vande Bharat have Wi-Fi and food?

• Wi-Fi: not internet Wi-Fi. Vande Bharat trains were fitted with Wi-Fi that serves stored entertainment content, not internet access, and the latest official feature list does not mention it. Use your own mobile data.
• Food: on Chair Car trains, meals are optional. You choose a meal or No Food while booking on IRCTC, and the meal charge of ₹156 to ₹433 is added to the fare. On the Vande Bharat Sleeper, food is included. See Vande Bharat food.

How to book a Vande Bharat ticket

Vande Bharat tickets are booked through IRCTC, the official Indian Railways booking service, on the website or app, or at a railway reservation counter. Booking opens 60 days before the journey at 08:00 IST, and Tatkal for CC and EC opens at 10:00 IST the day before. There is no separate Vande Bharat booking site. Follow the step-by-step Vande Bharat booking guide.

How much does a Vande Bharat ticket cost?

Fares depend on the route and class. Full-route fares with a meal from IRCTC on 11 November 2026:

On the Vande Bharat Sleeper from New Delhi to Varanasi, 3A cost ₹1,915. More routes are in Vande Bharat ticket price, and you can work out any fare with the Vande Bharat fare calculator.

Why does each Vande Bharat train have two numbers?

Each Vande Bharat route is run by a pair of trains, one in each direction, and each direction has its own five-digit train number. On New Delhi – Varanasi, 22436 runs from New Delhi and 22435 runs back from Varanasi. That is why route lists show numbers in pairs, like 22435/22436. Find any Vande Bharat train’s timetable with the Vande Bharat train time table.

Is Vande Bharat safe?

Vande Bharat trains carry the safety equipment the Ministry of Railways lists for its newest trains: the Kavach automatic train protection system, CCTV in all coaches, emergency alarm buttons and talk-back units to speak to the crew, fire detection and suppression in electrical cabinets and toilets, and centrally controlled automatic doors. The Vande Bharat Sleeper also has a crashworthy stainless-steel body.

Vande Bharat Express FAQs

What is Vande Bharat train? India’s semi-high-speed, fully air-conditioned train, built by ICF Chennai and run by Indian Railways. It has no separate engine, is designed for 180 km/h and runs at up to 160 km/h.

What is Vande Bharat Express? The daytime Vande Bharat service with CC and EC seats. The first Vande Bharat Express ran between New Delhi and Varanasi on 15 February 2019.

How many Vande Bharat trains are there in India? 84 routes in November 2026, 81 Chair Car and 3 Sleeper, which makes 168 train services counting each direction.

When did Vande Bharat Express start? On 15 February 2019, when the first train was flagged off from New Delhi to Varanasi.

Why is Vande Bharat called Train 18? Train 18 was its project name at ICF Chennai. It was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019, before its first run.

Who makes Vande Bharat trains? The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai designed and built the first Vande Bharat in 18 months. The first Sleeper prototype was unveiled at BEML in Bengaluru.

Is Vande Bharat a private train? No. It is run by Indian Railways, under the Ministry of Railways.

Is Vande Bharat a bullet train? No. It is a semi-high-speed train on existing tracks. India’s bullet train is a separate high-speed line.

What is CC and EC in Vande Bharat? CC is AC Chair Car, the standard class with 3+2 seating. EC is Executive Chair Car, with 2+2 seats that rotate and more room.

How many coaches are there in a Vande Bharat train? 8, 16 or 20 coaches on Chair Car trains, and 16 on the Vande Bharat Sleeper.

Does Vande Bharat have an engine? No separate engine. The motors are under the coaches, and there is a driver’s cab at each end.

Is food included in Vande Bharat? It is optional on Chair Car trains: you choose a meal or No Food when you book. On the Sleeper, food is included.

How do I book a Vande Bharat ticket? On IRCTC, up to 60 days ahead from 08:00 IST, or at a railway reservation counter.

Sources

Ministry of Railways via PIB: first train and ICF build, 14 February 2019 · second-generation train and 0–100 km/h, September 2022 · Wi-Fi content on demand, October 2023 · 75 trains, 10 August 2025 · backgrounder, December 2025 · Sleeper, January 2026 · route count and features, July 2026. Coach and seat counts: RDSO Vande Bharat trainset maintenance manual. Fares: IRCTC fare enquiry, 11 November 2026. Route count: our route list, checked against the Ministry list and zone announcements in November 2026. Report a correction.