India: Telangana to convert 240 diesel buses to electric
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSGRTC), the state-owned public transport operator, floated a tender in September for the retrofitting of 240 diesel buses with electric powertrains. Sai Green Mobility Pvt. Ltd., a company based in Hyderabad, the state capital, won the tender for 200 units. Kalyani Powertrain Ltd., based in Pune (Maharashtra), was awarded the remaining 40 units.
TSGRTC says it is India’s first state road transport corporation to convert diesel buses to electric at such a large scale. The operator has not disclosed the technical specifications planned for the converted units.
In 2023, TSGRTC successfully conducted a pilot project to retrofit an old ICE bus operated from the Musheerabad depot in Hyderabad with an electric powertrain in partnership with a private company. It says this retrofitted electric bus is running efficiently, now under the Uppal depot limits in the same city. The successful pilot has enabled the large-scale roll-out of the retrofitting programme.
At present, TSGRTC operates 325 electric buses across six depots in Hyderabad. It plans to add 175 more electric buses to its fleet later this year, taking the total to 500 units. It will also expand infrastructure in the state capital to support the growing fleet, with ten new bus depots, ten new charging stations, and charging facilities in 19 additional depots. These infrastructure developments will entail an investment of 3.92 billion rupees (approximately 36.5 million euros).
By 2027, TGSRTC aims to deploy 2,800 electric buses within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits of Hyderabad. This zero-emission fleet will comprise both retrofitted and new electric buses. In December, TGSRTC deployed 65 electric buses sourced from Olectra Greentech Ltd. in Hyderabad.
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