India Joins the Club of Nations as Bengaluru–Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Signals a New Era in Overnight Rail
That distinction matters. India already entered the Vande Bharat sleeper era in January 2026 with the first commercial service on the Howrah–Kamakhya route, and official railway releases say the new sleeper format carried 1.21 lakh passengers across 119 trips in its first three months, with occupancy above 100 percent.