The second sleeper vande bharat train of the country Prayagraj: North Central Railway (NCR) has made elaborate arrangements to welcome North India’s first sleeper Vande Bharat train at Prayagraj Junction on Oct 31. The Banaras-New Delhi inaugural special will arrive at 6 pm and receive a ceremonial welcome at platform 6 before departing for New Delhi at 6:05 pm after a five-minute halt.Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, state cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, MP Praveen Patel and others have been invited to the programme. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has also shared information about the launch through social media.Train 02527 will leave Banaras at 4:15 pm and reach Kanpur Central at 8:05 pm, Aligarh at 11:20 pm and Ghaziabad at 1:10 am before arriving at New Delhi at 2 am on Sunday. The 16-coach train will provide an overnight travel option between Kashi, Prayagraj and the national capital, benefiting pilgrims, students, professionals, traders and families.The service is expected to make overnight travel more convenient while saving passengers daytime travel hours.The Oct 31 service will operate as an inaugural special. Northern Railway will issue separate information on regular operations, though Railway Board has already issued the regular timetable. Prayagraj, Kanpur Central, Aligarh and Ghaziabad are among the scheduled stops.According to the regular timetable, the Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat sleeper service will depart Varanasi at 8:50 pm and reach Prayagraj at 10:35 pm. It will reach Kanpur Central at 12:40 am, followed by Aligarh at 3:55 am. The train will reach Ghaziabad at 5:05 before reaching New Delhi at 6:10 am. On the return journey, the train will depart New Delhi at 9:40 pm, reach Ghaziabad at 10:13 pm, Aligarh at 11:20 pm and Kanpur Central at 2:45 am. It will reach Prayagraj at 5:05 am, depart at 5:10 am and arrive in Varanasi at 6:10 am. The regular service will run six days a week, providing an overnight rail link between Varanasi, Prayagraj and New Delhi.