After Vande Bharat, Hopes for the Bullet Train to Run

January 4, 2026

Announcements about revolutionizing the Indian Railways have been made for a long time. Now, India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced on the very first day of 2026 that bullet trains will start running in our country from August 15, 2027. In the first phase, this bullet train will run between Surat and Vapi. After this, the first bullet train is announced to run from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. The distance between these two metro cities is 508 kilometers, which will be covered in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Before this, additional high-speed trains have already started running in the country’s important cities, but the trial of the Vande Bharat sleeper train has also been completed. This sleeper train will be run between Guwahati and Kolkata from January 18-19. In this trial run, the train will have 16 coaches which will run at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour. The fare for the second AC sleeper between Guwahati and Howrah could be Rs. 2700, while traveling by air costs at least Rs. 8000.

The goal is that 12 Vande Bharat Express trains should also start running in 2026. Undoubtedly, the railways and their speed are on the path of development, they will reach their destination faster, but they have not done much in the area of providing more convenience to the common man. Even today, we have not been able to guarantee a ticket and a seat to the passengers of Indian Railways. They get a proper seat only after overcoming the hurdles of the waiting list. It is said that we will give lower berths to senior citizens, but even that is not yet guaranteed in the train compartments. Earlier, during the Covid days, the concession given to senior citizens on train tickets was withdrawn.