Railway Board approves Bengaluru–Mumbai Vande Bharat sleeper service
The Railway Board has approved a Vande Bharat Sleeper Express between KSR Bengaluru and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, with operations likely to begin this month. The proposed overnight service will run six days a week, stopping at major stations across Karnataka and Maharashtra and using two sleeper trainsets.
The Railway Board has approved the introduction of a Vande Bharat Sleeper Express between KSR Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai, with operations likely to begin this month, according to officials. The service will be numbered 27652 from Bengaluru to Mumbai and 27651 in the return direction. The approval was based on the minutes of a Railway Board meeting held on February 16, 2026, according to a communication accessed by The Hindu.
Under the proposed schedule, the Bengaluru service will depart at 10 p.m. and reach Dharmavaram at 12.50 a.m., Wadi at 5.05 a.m. and CSMT at 1.50 p.m.
the next day. The Mumbai service will leave CSMT at 10.30 p.m. and arrive in Bengaluru at 2.50 p.m., stopping at Wadi and Dharmavaram en route.
The train will also stop at Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Pune and Kalyan. It is proposed to operate six days a week: the Bengaluru–Mumbai service would not run on Mondays, while the Mumbai–Bengaluru service would not run on Tuesdays. The Railway Board document says the service will use two Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets.
Solapur and Pune have been identified for watering and related terminal arrangements. The railway zones concerned have been instructed to take steps to introduce the service at an early convenient date. If necessary, the inaugural run may initially operate as a special service before being incorporated into the regular timetable.
The route is expected to provide an overnight rail connection between Bengaluru and Mumbai and would be the first Vande Bharat Sleeper service in South India, according to earlier remarks by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The 16-coach train design includes 11 Third AC coaches, four Second AC coaches and one First AC coach, with accommodation for 823 passengers. Features listed for the service include automatic doors, CCTV, bio-vacuum toilets, charging points, passenger information displays, catering and the Kavach automatic train protection system.
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