The Varanasi–New Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper train has been flagged off, reducing the reported rail journey between the two cities from 13–14 hours to about 9–9.5 hours and linking Varanasi with major urban centres including Prayagraj, Kanpur, Aligarh and Ghaziabad.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw jointly flagged off the train. After the ceremony, the two leaders inspected the sleeper coaches and spoke with passengers, schoolchildren and the locomotive pilot, according to a report by Aaj Tak Business. Vaishnaw also shared a video of the inspection on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The train will cover the approximately 760-kilometre distance between Varanasi and New Delhi in about nine hours and 30 minutes. The service is designed to run at a maximum speed of 180 kilometres per hour, although the actual journey time will also depend on the route, scheduled halts and operating conditions.
The route includes stops at Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Aligarh and Ghaziabad. These stations connect the service to several important cities and surrounding districts along the corridor, expanding the potential passenger catchment beyond Varanasi and Delhi. The route also places the service within an existing intercity network serving educational, employment, administrative and commercial travel.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper has 16 coaches and offers three classes: First AC, Second AC and Third AC. During the inspection, the railway minister explained features inside the coaches, including charging points, mobile-phone holders, bottle storage arrangements and toilet facilities. The report also showed the chief minister interacting with passengers travelling on the service.
Train number 27421 will depart from Varanasi at 8.50 pm and reach New Delhi at 5.55 am the following morning. In the opposite direction, train number 27422 will leave New Delhi at 9.40 pm and arrive in Varanasi at 6.45 am the next day. The overnight schedule is intended to allow passengers to travel between the two cities while preserving much of the following day for work or other activities.
The launch also coincided with the start of the Banaras–Prayagraj Ram Bagh train and the Varanasi City–Rajatalab train, according to the report. These services add to the rail connections being introduced or expanded in the region alongside the long-distance sleeper service.
The new train changes the travel-time profile of the Varanasi–Delhi corridor by combining overnight operation with sleeper accommodation and multiple air-conditioned classes. Its immediate operational details are the announced timetable, route halts, 16-coach configuration and stated nine-hour-30-minute journey time. Further passenger use will depend on how the service operates against this schedule after its launch.
