India’s new overnight Vande Bharat Express is impressing travellers not just for its speed, but also for its modern interiors, upgraded amenities and hotel-like experience. Recently a travel vlogger Saina Saiwan (@sainasaiwan), shared her experience on Instagram. She travelled on the Vande Bharat Sleeper and called it an honest review of her journey. Her reaction says it all. Despite being inside a train, she did not get the traditional “train wali vibe”. It was all because the upgraded interiors felt so polished and premium. The passenger looked clearly impressed with hygiene and washrooms to onboard food service.‘Train wali vibe nahi aa rahi thi’For many Indian travellers, train journeys are associated with the same old memories like blue-coloured berths, curtains, metal fittings and busy corridors. But experience aboard the Vande Bharat Sleeper is different which is conspicuous in the many videos shared by national as well as international travellers.In this video, she explains that the train did not feel like a conventional Indian train.She says, “Train wali vibe nahi aa rahi thi”Instead, the interiors gave her a more premium, almost airline-like experience. This contrast appears to be what caught her attention most. The Vande Bharat Sleeper has been developed specifically to upgrade overnight rail travel in India.The first train was launched between Howrah and Guwahati in January 2026.Hygiene was one of her biggest featuresUnlike traditional trains which are generally not that clean, one of the strongest points of Vande Bharat trains is hygiene. The video also highlights the overall cleanliness of the train.The washrooms particularly caught her attention which were absolutely clean. Instead of the conventional train washroom experience, she found the Vande Bharat Sleeper toilets contemporary enough to stand out.The North East Frontier Railway has highlighted contemporary toilets, advanced disinfectant technology and accessibility provisions as some of the features incorporated into the sleeper train.Impressible food serviceThe video also highlights the way food was served onboard. She noticed that the staff member serving food was wearing hand gloves and a head cap. For overnight travellers, food service can make a significant difference to the overall journey.
Vande Bharat Sleeper
The railway’s own information on the first Vande Bharat Sleeper also highlights onboard catering, including regional dishes on the Howrah-Guwahati route. Passengers travelling from Guwahati can expect Assamese options, while services originating from Kolkata feature Bengali cuisine.What makes Vande Bharat Sleeper different?The train is not simply a faster version of an existing sleeper service. It has been designed as a modern AC sleeper trainset with features intended to make long-distance overnight travel more comfortable.The train features:The first train has 16 coachesOne AC First Class coach, four AC 2-Tier coaches and 11 AC 3-Tier coachesCapacity for around 823 passengersMaximum operating speed of 160 kmphAutomatic doorsEmergency communication facilitiesKavach safety technologyOn the Howrah-Guwahati corridor, the sleeper service was expected to reduce journey time compared with the existing Sarai Ghat Express. Railway information put the journey at around 14 hours, compared with approximately 17 hours for the older service.A message for Vande Bharat travellersInterestingly, the travel vlogger’s review was not only about praising the train. Towards the end of her video, she made a request to passengers: if Indian Railways is providing such upgraded facilities, travellers also have a responsibility to maintain them.A new kind of Indian train journeyFor travellers accustomed to traditional sleeper trains, that transformation may initially feel unfamiliar. And that is perhaps the most revealing part of Saina’s review: the train was so different from what she expected that she felt she was missing the conventional “train vibe”.
Vande Bharat
As more Vande Bharat Sleeper services are introduced, passenger experiences like hers will offer a useful perspective on whether India’s upgraded overnight trains can successfully combine the nostalgia of rail travel with the comfort and polish of modern transportation.
