Kolkata: Bookings for India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper Express on the Howrah–Kamakhya route saw near-total occupancy within hours of opening, with berths almost fully reserved up to January 26, Eastern Railway officials said on Tuesday.
The train, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 17, will begin regular commercial operations from Kamakhya on January 22 and from Howrah on January 23.
It will run six days a week, excluding Thursdays from Howrah and Wednesdays from Kamakhya.
Booking data accessed on Tuesday evening showed strong demand for both inaugural commercial runs.
For the first Howrah–Kamakhya service scheduled on January 23, waiting lists were reported
across all three classes by around 6:30 pm, with Third AC showing a waiting list of 64 passengers.
Limited seats remained available in Second AC and Third AC for journeys between January 24 and January 28, while First AC had already moved to waiting list status for those dates, with availability in other classes declining rapidly.
For the Kamakhya–Howrah service on January 22, all three classes had moved to waiting lists, with Third AC recording a waiting list of 39 passengers.
Eastern Railway said occupancy on January 23 and 24 was close to 100 per cent, driven by the long weekend and upcoming national holidays.
From January 25 to January 27, all classes were under waiting lists.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper offers a total of 823 berths, including 24 in First AC, 188 in Second AC and 611 in Third AC. Railway authorities attributed the strong response to reduced travel time and overnight connectivity between south Bengal, north Bengal and Assam.
They added that the service’s higher average speed and improved onboard comfort could draw passengers away from air travel on the corridor.