"India’s First Vande Bharat Sleeper and 6 Amrit Bharat Trains to be Flagged Off by PM Modi on Jan 17."

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the first Vande Bharat sleeper between Kolkata and Guwahati will run from January 17. It will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in West Bengal's Malda town. This train will run between Kamakhya and Howrah Junction for 6 days.

At the same time, according to the Railway Minister, 6 new Amrit Bharat Express will also be launched. Their services will start meeting from 17th and 18th January 2026.

On Thursday, Vaishnav said that there will be a major change in Indian Railways in 2026 at the Ati Vishika Rail Seva Award ceremony in Delhi. All these improvements involve the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Railway Minister said - India's startups and innovative minds will be connected to the railways

The Railway Minister said that a new structural approach will be adopted to promote technology and innovation in the railways. A new structural approach to technology and innovation will be introduced, so that India's startups and innovative minds can connect with the railways.

A technology innovation portal will be launched for this. AI will be used extensively for maintenance activities.

Starting fare of Vande Bharat Sleeper is 2300 rupees

The third AC fare of Vande Bharat sleeper train has been fixed at ₹2,300. Second AC fare will be ₹3,000. First AC fare is proposed to be around ₹3,600.

The sleeper train has been designed keeping in mind long distance travel of more than 1000 km. Around 12 Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be ready by the end of this year.

The trial run of this train was done on December 30. This train ran on the Kota-Nagda railway track at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour. The loco pilot put water in 4 glasses, even during this speed, no water spilled from the glass.

The train is equipped with advanced safety features

Vande Bharat Sleeper has advanced safety features, superior suspension system and world-class sleeper coach. The Railway Minister said that generally, the air fare on Guwahati-Howrah route is between ₹6,000 to ₹8,000. Sometimes it even reaches ₹10,000. At the same time, the third AC fare from Guwahati to Howrah in Vande Bharat Sleeper is kept at ₹2,300.