What this Vande Bharat running days checker does
Almost every Vande Bharat Express runs six days a week, not seven. Each train has one day off, set in its timetable, and that day differs from train to train and sometimes between the two directions of the same route. Book a ticket for the wrong day and you will simply not find the train on IRCTC. This tool answers the question "does my Vande Bharat train run today?" for any date: pick the train and the date, and it tells you whether the train runs that day, shows its weekly pattern and lists the next five dates it runs.
It covers 52 Vande Bharat trains whose timetables we have checked: the busiest Chair Car routes, all Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai, Howrah and Tamil Nadu, and all three Vande Bharat Sleeper routes.
How to use the checker
- Choose your Vande Bharat train. Each direction has its own number, for example 22895 Howrah–Puri and 22896 Puri–Howrah.
- Pick the date the train leaves its first station. For a daytime Vande Bharat Express this is your travel date.
- Press Check. A green tick means the train runs that day; a red cross means it does not.
- Use the next run dates to pick another day if your date is the train's day off.
How it works
Each Vande Bharat train's running days come from its checked timetable, written like "Daily except Thu". The checker looks up the weekday of your date and compares it with the train's day off. It does not know about one-off cancellations, so a train that normally runs can still be cancelled or rescheduled on a particular date. Check NTES on your travel day.
Why "first station" matters
Running days are counted from the date the train leaves its first station. On daytime Chair Car trains that is also your travel date: every Vande Bharat Express Chair Car train we track starts and finishes on the same calendar day. On overnight Sleeper trains, if you board after midnight, the train left its first station the day before. For example, the Mumbai–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Sleeper 27651 leaves Mumbai CSMT at 20:10 and reaches Solapur Jn (SUR) at 03:00 the next morning. It does not run on Tuesdays, so it never reaches Solapur in the early hours of a Wednesday.
Which day does each Vande Bharat train not run?
Across the 52 Vande Bharat trains we track, the day off is most often Tuesday (15 trains) or Wednesday (15), then Thursday (13), Friday (5), Sunday (2), Monday (1) and Saturday (1). None of them runs on all seven days.
| Vande Bharat route | Trains | Does not run |
|---|---|---|
| Howrah (HWH) – Puri (PURI) | 22895 / 22896 | Thursday |
| Mumbai CSMT – Madgaon (MAO) | 22229 / 22230 | Friday |
| Mumbai Central (MMCT) – Ahmedabad (ADI) | 22961 / 22962 | Sunday |
| Mumbai Central – Gandhinagar Capital (GNC) | 20901 / 20902 | Wednesday |
| Howrah – New Jalpaiguri (NJP) | 22301 / 22302 | Wednesday |
| New Delhi (NDLS) – Varanasi Jn (BSB) | 22435 / 22436 | Thursday |
| New Delhi – Varanasi Jn | 22415 / 22416 | Tuesday |
| Chennai Central (MAS) – Coimbatore (CBE) | 20643 / 20644 | Wednesday |
| Mumbai CSMT – Solapur (SUR) | 22225 / 22226 | Wednesday / Thursday |
| Hazur Sahib Nanded (NED) – Mumbai CSMT | 20705 / 20706 | Wednesday / Thursday |
| Sleeper New Delhi – Varanasi | 27422 / 27421 | Saturday / Friday |
| Sleeper Mumbai CSMT – SMVT Bengaluru (SMVB) | 27651 / 27652 | Tuesday / Monday |
| Sleeper Howrah – Kamakhya (KYQ) | 27575 / 27576 | Thursday / Wednesday |
Where two days are shown, the first is for the first train number. On these routes the two directions have different days off, so do not assume the return train runs on the same days as the outward one.
Worked examples
- 22895 Howrah–Puri on Thursday 12 November 2026: does not run. The next run dates are Friday 13, Saturday 14, Sunday 15, Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 November.
- Christmas on the Mumbai–Goa Vande Bharat Express: 25 December 2026 is a Friday, the day 22229 and 22230 do not run.
- Sunday in Ahmedabad: the Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad pair 22961/22962 does not run on Sundays, but 20901/20902 does. 20901 leaves Mumbai Central at 06:00 and reaches Ahmedabad at 11:35.
- Two trains, two days off: on New Delhi–Varanasi, 22436 is off on Thursdays and 22416 on Tuesdays, so at least one Vande Bharat Chair Car train runs between the two cities every day of the week.
Planning a return trip around the day off
On most Vande Bharat routes both trains of a pair share the same day off, so an outward trip on any running day has a same-day or next-day return. A few routes need more care. On Mumbai CSMT–Solapur, 22225 does not run on Wednesday and the return 22226 does not run on Thursday: leave Mumbai on Tuesday evening and you can return on Wednesday morning, but leave on Wednesday and there is no 22225 at all. On the Vande Bharat Sleeper routes the two directions are always off on different days, for example 27651 on Tuesday and 27652 on Monday on Mumbai–Bengaluru.
For a same-day trip, the same-day return planner shows only the weekdays when both Vande Bharat trains run.
How IRCTC shows running days
On the IRCTC train search, each Vande Bharat Express shows a "Runs On" row of seven letters, M T W T F S S, with the running days highlighted. The availability calendar that opens when you click CC or EC also skips the day off: for 22895 on 11 November 2026, it listed Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but not Thursday. Festival and special trains, usually numbered from 0, have their own running days and are not covered by this checker.
Vande Bharat running days FAQs
Is Vande Bharat running every day?
No. Every Vande Bharat train we track runs six days a week, with one day off that differs by train.
What are the running days of the Vande Bharat Express from Varanasi?
22435 leaves Varanasi daily except Thursday, 22415 daily except Tuesday, and the Sleeper 27421 daily except Friday.
What are the Delhi to Varanasi Vande Bharat running days?
22436 runs daily except Thursday and 22416 daily except Tuesday. The Sleeper 27422 runs daily except Saturday.
Does Vande Bharat run on Sunday?
Most do. Of the trains we track, only 22961 and 22962 Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad do not run on Sundays.
Why does Vande Bharat not run one day a week?
Indian Railways sets one non-running day in each Vande Bharat timetable. We have not seen an official reason published train by train, so we only report the day itself.
Can a Vande Bharat train be cancelled on a running day?
Yes, occasionally, for operational reasons. If the railway cancels your train you get a full refund. Check NTES on the day.
Related tools and guides
Plan around the day off with the Vande Bharat train time table, trains between stations and the booking date calculator, and see the full Vande Bharat route list.
Sources: running days from timetables cross-checked on erail, ConfirmTkt and RailYatri, 11 November 2026; Sleeper running days also in the South Western Railway and Northern Railway launch notices.