Mumbai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Sleeper: Each hour saved costs about ₹239 in 3AC

The new Vande Bharat Sleeper covers Bengaluru to Mumbai in 16 hours 10 minutes. The Coimbatore-Mumbai LTT Express, one of the route's faster trains, reportedly takes 21 hours 55 minutes. We used that gap to work out what each saved hour costs in every class.

The Sleeper's reported 3AC fare is ₹2,810, against ₹1,435 on the express. That is ₹1,375 more, or about 96% extra. Spread across 5 hours 45 minutes, the premium comes to about ₹239 an hour. This class has the steepest percentage jump of the three.

Second AC costs a reported ₹3,630 on the Sleeper and ₹2,045 on the express. The difference is ₹1,585, or about 78%. That works out to about ₹276 for every hour saved, the highest hourly cost of the three classes.

First AC has the smallest gap. The Sleeper is reported at ₹4,450 and the express at ₹3,425, a difference of ₹1,025, or about 30%. That makes it the cheapest upgrade per hour saved, even though it remains the costliest ticket on the train.

The train leaves SMVT Bengaluru at 7:45 pm and reaches CSMT Mumbai at 11:55 am. The return leaves at 8:10 pm and arrives at noon. There are 823 berths across 16 coaches. It does not run from Bengaluru on Mondays or from Mumbai on Tuesdays.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said fares are based on the facilities provided on each train. For a traveller, the question is simpler: is an hour worth ₹178 to ₹276? Seats were reportedly full for the next couple of weeks at launch, so early buyers seem willing to pay.