Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains to Operate Without RAC and Waitlist Tickets
The upcoming Vande Bharat sleeper trains will operate with only confirmed ticket bookings, as Indian Railways has decided to do away with Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC), wait-listed, and partially confirmed tickets for these services.
According to the Railway Board, all berths will be available for booking from the start of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP). The trains will offer limited quotas, including those for ladies, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and duty pass holders. Refund rules will remain the same as applicable to other express trains.
The minimum chargeable distance for Vande Bharat sleeper services has been fixed at 400 km. Fares up to this distance are ₹960 for AC 3-tier, ₹1,240 for AC 2-tier, and ₹1,520 for AC 1st class.
At present, two out of the ten Vande Bharat sleeper trains being jointly manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory and Bharat Earth Movers Limited have been rolled out. The first train has been allocated to the Northeast Frontier Railway and is set to operate on the Guwahati–Howrah route, while the second has been allotted to the Northern Railway. More rakes are expected to be rolled out in phases, with the first six likely to be ready by March.
