Sealdah Division to get the first set of Amrit Bharat sleeper trains
The Statesman | 9 January 2026
The Sealdah Division of the Eastern Railway is slated to get its first set of premium trains of the Amrit Bharat sleeper series. If all goes according to the plan, the division could get two new routes of Amrit Bharat sleeper trains soon.
According to official sources, the Sealdah Division is likely to have train operations between Sealdah and Varanasi and Kolkata station and Radhikapur. Of the two new routes, Sealdah-Varanasi Amrit Bharat sleeper train could see the green flag during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anticipating a green signal, the railway officials are gearing up for the inaugural on 18 January. However, a confirmation on the matter is yet to come for the central authorities.
Notably, West Bengal, so far, has two routes of Amrit Bharat sleeper trains. The two routes connect the popular points of Malda Town to Bangalore and Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. As learnt from sources, the routes have been quite popular and the demand has seen a surge in the last few months. The Indian Railways is now considering operating six Amrit Bharat trains in three divisions connecting crucial routes of West Bengal to other cities. The six premium trains are to be rolled out in the two zonal railways-Eastern Railway and the South Eastern Railway.
As learnt from official sources, of the six, three routes have been planned including between Sealdah and Varanasi and Kolkata station and Radhikapur in Eastern Railway and Santragachi-Tambaram railway station in Chennai. As anticipated by officials, out of the three routes, Sealdah and Varanasi, along with Santragachi-Tambaram Amrit Bharat sleeper trains could see the green signal this month while the one between Kolkata station and Radhikapur could take some time.
The state is also set to get the first Vande Bharat sleeper trains that are being rolled out for the first time in the country. The indigenously built semi-high-speed Vande Bharat sleeper train is to be operated between Guwahati (Kamakhya) in Assam and Howrah. The train is to cover the districts of Kamrup Metropolitan and Bongaigaon in Assam, and Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Purba Burdwan, Hooghly and Howrah in West Bengal along its route.