Vande Bharat Sleeper Train: Know All About Route, Fare and Key Travel Details

India's first Vande Bharat sleeper train will start running on the Guwahati–Kolkata route, thus providing a faster and more comfortable overnight rail connection between Assam and West Bengal. The new service will add to the existing Vande Bharat daytime services between Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri and New Jalpaiguri–Howrah to develop a seamless travel corridor between the Northeast and Kolkata.

The Guwahati–Kolkata Vande Bharat is planned as the first sleeper‑class variant of the Vande Bharat series, designed for overnight journeys at semi‑high speed up to 180 kmph design speed. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that testing and certification are complete, adding that the inaugural run between Guwahati and Howrah will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2026.

The expectation is that this train will significantly reduce end‑to‑end journey time compared with existing overnight expresses on the route, while it provides superior onboard comfort and safety features such as modern coaches, better ride quality, and advanced braking systems.

Route and Major Sections

Broadly, the Guwahati–Kolkata Vande Bharat Sleeper will follow the existing high‑density rail corridor through North Bengal that is already served by the Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri and New Jalpaiguri–Howrah Vande Bharat Expresses. 

If early official briefings and media reports are any indication, it will pass through key districts such as Kamrup Metropolitan and Bongaigaon in Assam and Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly and Howrah in West Bengal.

This will effectively connect the Northeast gateway city of Guwahati with the eastern metropolitan hub of Kolkata through the Siliguri/Jalpaiguri belt, which is already a major rail junction zone connecting the Northeast to the rest of India.

Expected Stops Between Guwahati and Kolkata

Detailed commercial timetable and final list of halts for the sleeper service are yet to be officially notified, but indications suggest that it will broadly mirror a combination of the existing Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat (22228/22227) and the New Jalpaiguri–Howrah Vande Bharat (22301/22302). 

On the Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri leg, the daytime Vande Bharat currently halts at:

• Guwahati (GHY)

• Kamakhya (KYQ)

• New Bongaigaon (NBQ)

• Kokrajhar (KOJ)

• Gossaigaon Hat (GOGH)

• New Alipurduar (NOQ)

• New Cooch Behar (NCB)

• New Jalpaiguri (NJP)

The normal route from Guwahati to Howrah for the Vande Bharat will have halts at important intermediate stations such as Malda Town, Barsoi Jn., and Bolpur SNT before finally arriving at Howrah. The plan for the nighttime version is to retain only a few busy stations on the route and hence retain the overnight semi-high speed express timing.

Timings and Frequency

Its current schedule, the Guwahati–New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat (train 22228), starts at Guwahati at 16:30 and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 22:00, thereby spanning a distance of 409 km in around 5 hours 30 minutes, maintaining an average speed of over 74 km/h.

The New Jalpaiguri–Howrah Vande Bharat (train 22302) operates for a distance of 562 km in 7 hours 35 minutes. The upcoming Guwahati–Kolkata sleeper Vande Bharat will have its nights adjusted to accommodate departures in the evening itself along with early morning arrivals, catering to the needs of businessmen, students, and tourists, and will chug along six days a week, like the existing regional Vande Bharats. Distance and Journey Time

There are various The Guwahati-Kolkata (Howrah) full route, tracing the path through North Bengal, is expected to be in the range of 1,000 to 1,100 km, comprising the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri and New Jalpaiguri-Howrah routes. 

With semi-high speed running with minimal halts, the sleepers Vande Bharat would hopefully give a competing running time performance compared to the current trains as well as flight services, hopefully sometime in the range of 16 to 18 hours, depending on the eventual timing. This would be a great advantage, especially for the people of Assam and North Bengal, who would need either the current overnight slower expresses or plane services, which are costlier.

Coach Composition and Onboard Facilities

According to early official and media information, the Guwahati–Kolkata sleeper Vande Bharat will have 16 coaches in total. The proposed composition includes:

• 11 AC three‑tier sleeper (3AC) coaches

• 4 AC two‑tier sleeper (2AC) coaches

• 1 first AC (1AC) coach

This forms a continuous Vande Bharat corridor across Assam and West Bengal, significantly enhancing connectivity between the Northeast and Kolkata for both day and night travel. As additional semi‑high‑speed corridors are developed, this route is expected to become a backbone link for tourism, business, and education movement into and out of the Northeast.

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