--- title: "Vande Bharat Express | Whitepill" canonical_url: "https://www.whitepill.in/milestones/vande-bharat-express" last_updated: "2026-09-07T19:14:02.201Z" meta: description: "Vande Bharat Express is India's first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train series, developed by Indian Railways as a major example of..." "og:description": "Vande Bharat Express is India's first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train series, developed by Indian Railways as a major example of..." "og:title": "Vande Bharat Express | Whitepill" "twitter:description": "Vande Bharat Express is India's first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train series, developed by Indian Railways as a major example of..." "twitter:title": "Vande Bharat Express | Whitepill" --- [All milestones](https://www.whitepill.in/milestones) Infrastructure Government # Vande Bharat Express 15 February 2019 Vande Bharat Express is India's first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train series, developed by Indian Railways as a major example of domestic railway engineering and Make in India. Originally developed as Train 18, the first Vande Bharat service was launched between New Delhi and Varanasi in February 2019. The network subsequently expanded rapidly across India, evolving through newer trainsets, improved passenger amenities and the introduction of a sleeper variant for longer-distance travel. Published by [Whitepill](https://www.whitepill.in/about) on 12 August 2026 ## People involved [Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India](https://www.google.com/search?q=Narendra+Modi) [Ashwini VaishnawUnion Minister for Electronics and Information Technology](https://www.google.com/search?q=Ashwini+Vaishnaw) [Sudhanshu ManiFormer General Manager, Integral Coach Factory](https://www.google.com/search?q=Sudhanshu+Mani) [V. G. SoodFormer Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, Integral Coach Factory](https://www.google.com/search?q=V.+G.+Sood) ## Timeline 29 October 2018 #### Train 18 prototype unveiled Indian Railways unveiled Train 18, an indigenously designed semi-high-speed trainset developed at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. 2 December 2018 #### Train 18 completes high-speed trials The prototype completed high-speed testing and demonstrated speeds of up to 180 km/h during trials, establishing the technical capability of the new trainset. 15 February 2019 #### First Vande Bharat Express launched Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India's first Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi. The train was India's first indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train. 3 October 2019 #### Second Vande Bharat service launched The second Vande Bharat Express service was introduced on the New Delhi–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra route, expanding the new train concept beyond the original Delhi–Varanasi corridor. 1 January 2021 #### Production programme expands Indian Railways moved toward larger-scale production of Vande Bharat trainsets, with the Integral Coach Factory developing improved versions and preparing for wider deployment. 30 September 2022 #### Vande Bharat 2.0 launched The first Vande Bharat 2.0 trainset was flagged off on the Gandhinagar–Mumbai Central route. The newer generation introduced improvements in acceleration, passenger amenities, safety and energy efficiency. 11 October 2022 #### Vande Bharat network expands rapidly Following the introduction of the upgraded trainset, Indian Railways began rapidly expanding Vande Bharat services to additional inter-city routes across the country. 1 April 2023 #### Vande Bharat expands to multiple regions By early 2023, Vande Bharat services had expanded to several major corridors, with new services being introduced across different regions of India. 21 July 2023 #### 50 Vande Bharat trains introduced Indian Railways reached the milestone of 50 Vande Bharat trains introduced on its network by 21 July 2023. 28 July 2023 #### 50 Vande Bharat services operational As of 28 July 2023, 50 Vande Bharat train services were operating across the Indian Railways network. 20 December 2023 #### 50th Vande Bharat rake manufactured The Integral Coach Factory manufactured its 50th Vande Bharat rake during 2023, demonstrating the increasing domestic production capacity for the trainsets. 30 December 2023 #### 40 pairs of Vande Bharat trains operational By 30 December 2023, 40 pairs of Vande Bharat trains were operating across India. The network had reached more than 250 districts, while more than 1.6 crore passengers had travelled on Vande Bharat services by early January 2024. 9 January 2024 #### Vande Bharat crosses 1.6 crore passengers By 9 January 2024, Vande Bharat services had completed 16,521 trips and carried more than 1.61 crore passengers. 2 December 2024 #### 136 Vande Bharat services operational By 2 December 2024, 136 Vande Bharat Chair Car services were operational across India's broad-gauge electrified network, covering 24 states and reaching hundreds of districts. 26 December 2024 #### 136 Vande Bharat services running nationwide Indian Railways reported 136 Vande Bharat train services operating across the country at the end of 2024. During calendar year 2024 alone, 62 Vande Bharat services were introduced. 17 December 2024 #### Vande Bharat Sleeper prototype manufactured The first Vande Bharat Sleeper trainset was manufactured and subsequently underwent testing, extending the Vande Bharat platform toward longer-distance overnight travel. 18 March 2025 #### 136 Vande Bharat services cover 333 districts By March 2025, 136 Vande Bharat services were operating across India, covering 333 districts in 24 states and carrying more than 4.2 crore passengers since introduction. 31 December 2025 #### Vande Bharat network reaches 164 services By the end of 2025, Indian Railways had introduced 164 Vande Bharat train services, reflecting a rapid expansion from the two original services launched in 2019. 22 January 2026 #### First Vande Bharat Sleeper enters regular service India's first Vande Bharat Sleeper service, the Howrah–Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, commenced regular operation, extending the Vande Bharat platform to overnight long-distance travel. 1 April 2026 #### Vande Bharat continues nationwide expansion Vande Bharat services continued expanding across the Indian Railways network, with the sleeper variant adding a new long-distance segment to the Vande Bharat family. 15 June 2026 #### Vande Bharat Sleeper crosses 1 lakh passengers The first Vande Bharat Sleeper service carried approximately 1.21 lakh passengers across 119 trips during its first three months of operation. 30 June 2026 #### Vande Bharat becomes a major nationwide rail network By 2026, Vande Bharat had evolved from a single Delhi–Varanasi service into a large nationwide network of indigenously designed semi-high-speed trains, alongside the newer sleeper variant. ## Resources - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1942808) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1945080) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PRID=2215265) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2088668) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2118003) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2209199) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PRID=2250963) - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PRID=2288381)