Glossary · Travel classes

SL — Sleeper Class

The non-AC sleeping class that carries most of India: 72 berths a coach, open windows, no bedding, and the base fare every other class is a multiple of.

Sleeper coaches have the same layout as 3A, six berths per bay plus two side berths, without air-conditioning or bedding. The windows open and have bars. A standard ICF Sleeper coach has 72 berths; LHB coaches have 80. It is the cheapest reserved class with a berth and the class the fare table is built around: every AC fare is a published multiple of the Sleeper fare for the same distance.

Tatkal for Sleeper opens at 11:00 IST, an hour after the AC classes. The cancellation flat charge is ₹120 per passenger with no GST.

Also written or searched as: sleeper · sleeper class · S coach · non-AC sleeper

Act on itFind a Sleeper berth positionOpen

Related terms

  • 3AAC 3-Tier
  • 2SSecond Sitting
  • Tatkal
  • MBMiddle Berth

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Last reviewed

September 15, 2026

Content update

Auto-updated on Jun 28, 2026

Scope: Definitions follow the published Indian Railways and IRCTC rules. Where a figure appears, it is read from the same engine as the site's calculators.

Rules reviewed