Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper flagged off; leaves at 7:45 pm, reaches CSMT before noon
The overnight train runs between SMVT Bengaluru and CSMT Mumbai via Guntakal, Kalaburagi, Solapur and Pune, six days a week. It is the third Vande Bharat Sleeper route in the country.
Bengaluru and Mumbai now have an overnight Vande Bharat service. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express between SMVT Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai on Sunday, the Ministry of Railways said that evening.
It is the third route for the sleeper version of the train. The first ran between Howrah and Guwahati from January 2026, and the Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper was flagged off a day before this one, on 31 October.
Timings
According to the ministry:
- Bengaluru to Mumbai: departs SMVT Bengaluru at 7:45 pm, arrives CSMT Mumbai at 11:55 am the next day.
- Mumbai to Bengaluru: departs CSMT at 8:10 pm, arrives SMVT Bengaluru at 12:00 noon the next day.
By our calculation, that is a journey of 16 hours 10 minutes towards Mumbai and 15 hours 50 minutes on the way back.
The train runs six days a week. It does not leave Bengaluru on Mondays and does not leave Mumbai on Tuesdays.
Stops
The ministry listed these stations on the route:
- Andhra Pradesh: Anantapur, Guntakal
- Karnataka: Raichur, Yadgir, Wadi, Kalaburagi
- Maharashtra: Solapur, Pune, Kalyan
The route takes the train north from Bengaluru through the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh and across north Karnataka before it enters Maharashtra. The minister said parts of north Karnataka had so far lacked premium train services, and this route gives Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi a direct overnight link with both Bengaluru and Mumbai.
For travellers between Pune and Bengaluru, the train is also a new overnight option, since both cities are on the route.
Fares and bookings
The ministry's release did not give fares, the classes of accommodation or the date from which regular bookings open. Passengers should check the IRCTC website or app, or ask at the station, for fares and availability.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper is the overnight version of the Vande Bharat trains that most passengers know as daytime chair-car services. The sleeper sets have berths instead of seats and, like other Vande Bharat trains, are self-propelled, with motors spread along the train instead of a separate locomotive at the front.
What else the minister announced
Mr Vaishnaw also said:
- Bengaluru-Mangaluru: Vande Bharat services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru are expected to start within the next few weeks, once electrification and testing on the route are complete.
- Another sleeper route: the next Vande Bharat Sleeper for Karnataka would start from Bengaluru and run through the Hubballi region towards Pune and Mumbai. No date was given.
- High-speed corridors: he said proposed high-speed links would bring Bengaluru-Chennai travel down to 73 minutes and Bengaluru-Hyderabad to about 2 hours 10 minutes. The release did not give a timeline for these corridors, and they should be read as plans, not services passengers can expect soon.
Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna said railway works worth about ₹52,000 crore were under way in Karnataka.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said accidents had fallen from 135 to 16 after the rollout of Kavach, the indigenous automatic train protection system. The release did not say which period or which network these figures cover, so we are not able to put them in context.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X that his office released, said the train would benefit people in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, especially young people, IT professionals and students.
Sources
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