New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced that the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will be launched once the second train is ready for regular service.
Officials confirmed that one train is already prepared for launch at Shakur Basti Coaching Depot in Delhi, having successfully completed all necessary trials and testing. Briefing the media, Vaishnaw said the second train is currently under manufacture and is expected to be ready by October 15, 2025.
“Both trains will be launched together,” he stated, emphasizing that the second train is essential to ensure continuity in regular operations. “Once the second rake is ready, we will finalize the route and commence services,” Vaishnaw added.
Speculation suggests that the trains could initially run between New Delhi and Patna, especially as Bihar heads to polls later this year.
Vaishnaw, along with Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, also updated the media on ongoing and upcoming railway projects in Punjab. They highlighted the new 18-kilometre Rajpura-Mohali line, which will connect the region to Chandigarh via the shortest route on the Ambala-Amritsar main line. This link will provide direct connectivity between Rajpura and Mohali, reduce travel distance by approximately 66 kilometres, and ease traffic on the existing Rajpura-Ambala and Ambala-Morinda routes.
The minister also announced a proposal for a new Vande Bharat train connecting New Delhi and Firozpur Cantonment, stopping at Faridkot, Bhatinda (W), Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantonment, Kurukshetra, and Panipat. The 486-kilometre journey is expected to take 6 hours and 40 minutes. “I will request the Prime Minister’s approval for the Firozpur-Delhi Vande Bharat train,” Vaishnaw said.
The ministers further shared details of nine key railway projects commissioned since 2014. These include:
- Nangal Dam–Daulat Pur Chowk line (61 km, Rs 672 crore)
- Doubling of Chakki Bank–Bharoli line (3 km, Rs 15 crore)
- Jakhal–Mansa line (45 km, Rs 163 crore)
- JUC–SuchiPind line (4 km, Rs 24 crore)
- Ambala–Chandigarh line (45 km, Rs 338 crore)
- Mansa–Bhatinda line (49 km, Rs 216 crore)
- Amritsar–Chheharta line (7 km, Rs 31 crore)
- Jalandhar–Jammu Tawi line (211 km, Rs 850 crore)
- Rajpura–Bhatinda line (173 km, Rs 2,459 crore)
Seven more railway projects are currently under execution, including:
- Nangal Dam–Talwara new line (123 km, Rs 2,018 crore)
- Bhanupalli–Bilaspur–Beri new line (63 km, Rs 6,753 crore)
- Ferozpur–Patti new line (26 km, Rs 300 crore)
- Doubling of Mansa–Bhatinda line (80 km, Rs 449 crore)
- Ludhiana–Kila Raipur line (17 km, Rs 238 crore)
- Ludhiana–Mullanpur line (21 km, Rs 295 crore)
- Alal–Himmatana line (13 km, Rs 174 crore)
Vaishnaw also noted that 30 stations are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Redevelopment Scheme.
Highlighting improvements in train punctuality, he added that 29 rail divisions—including Malda, Mysore, Sialdah, Nagpur, and Trivandrum—have achieved 90 percent on-time performance.
