Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday flagged off the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express connecting Bengaluru and Mumbai, strengthening overnight rail connectivity between the two major metropolitan cities.

He also announced that the next Vande Bharat Sleeper train for Karnataka will originate from Bengaluru, connect several parts of North Karnataka towards Hubballi, and then proceed towards Pune and Mumbai.