Vande to Sleep or not to Sleep? Shakespeare and Ghālib on Vanishing Vande Sleeper

It took unflinching resolve of a team at Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur, Chennai, to design and build Train 18 in just 18 months—India’s first modern semi-high-speed train. Flagged off in early 2019 as the Vande Bharat Express, it became a symbol of national pride and the PM’s pet project. But after deploying nearly a 100 rakes—all in seater versions—the novelty has worn thin. I had long held that after approximately 50/60 daytime services, only a Sleeper version could carry the mission forward. But that version, which should have been reality by end 2019, has been repeatedly “launched” since March 2024; it, however, is still playing hide-and-sleeper with commercial service . Why? Largely because quality issues in the BEML-built prototype have caused ICF to raise red flags. Meanwhile, nearly 25 Vande Bharat seater services are running half-empty with their average speeds falling. Yet the sleeper train slumbers on—metaphorically and literally. Disheartened, I once ag...