A new chapter in the history of Indian Railways is beginning on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the country's first Vande Bharat sleeper train from Malda Town railway station in West Bengal. With this inauguration, the Vande Bharat project is expanding to sleeper services, providing passengers with a modern and fast option for long-distance travel.
Currently, two Vande Bharat sleeper trains have been prepared. One of these trains will run between Kolkata (Howrah) and Guwahati (Kamakhya), while the other will serve the Guwahati to Kolkata route. According to the information provided by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, during this visit, Prime Minister Modi will dedicate more than a dozen new trains to the nation in West Bengal. Additionally, seven 'Amrit Bharat' trains will also be flagged off, strengthening West Bengal's railway connections with other states.
During this tour, Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone and inaugurate various railway and road projects worth more than 3,250 crore rupees in Maldah. This development is also being viewed from a political perspective as assembly elections are being held in five states, including West Bengal and Assam, this year. The journey of the Vande Bharat train began on February 15, 2019, with the first chair car service. Subsequently, Vande Bharat 2.0 was launched on September 30, 2022, and Vande Bharat 3.0 in 2025. Now, on January 17, 2026, the first Vande Bharat sleeper train is starting. In the next phase, the Vande Bharat 4.0 service will commence in 2027 with the advanced 5.0 version of the Kavach safety system.
According to railway officials, the number of Vande Bharat trains has reached 164 by December 2025, and it will reach 800 by 2030. The target is to have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains running in the country by 2047. This fleet will include both chair car and sleeper types of trains. Currently, Vande Bharat sleeper trains are designed for distances of 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers. However, in the future, these services will also be started on long-distance routes like Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Along with high-speed trains, the railways are also working on dedicated high-speed corridors and the construction of state-of-the-art tracks, claiming that these trains will be able to run at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour like bullet trains.