Overview
- Indian Railways, which confirmed approval in an April 5 letter to MP P C Mohan, has cleared a Vande Bharat sleeper between Mumbai CSMT and KSR Bengaluru.
- The Pune–Bengaluru leg is expected to take about 13–14 hours, down from roughly 15–19 hours today, a change commuters say would make overnight rail a practical option.
- Reports say the train will start in Mumbai, stop at Pune, and likely route via Solapur, Wadi, Raichur and Guntakal, with departures around 9 pm and six-day-a-week service using two train sets.
- The 16-coach rake is reported to seat 823 across AC classes and to use Kavach, an Indian anti-collision system, in one of the first sleeper versions of Vande Bharat.
- Central Railway said the launch date, final timings, fares and exact stops are still to be announced, and the service will not replace the Udyan Express.