The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has embarked on an ambitious green-energy programme under which 5,000 of its buses will run on liquified natural gas (LNG).
For this, the state transport body, which has one of India’s largest bus fleets, invited bids this month for companies who can pull off this feat effectively.
The aim is to get certification for 10 different models of existing high-speed diesel buses to be retrofitted with LNG kits. The project includes installation of the equipment and supplying LNG to them along with providing a comprehensive warranty for each lot of buses with at least 50 per depot.
A list of 82 depots has been short-listed for the project. The ten-year project also includes making provisions for and setting up LNG setup supply arrangements at respective locations to be kept ready before deployment of converted buses.
An approximate space of 40x40 metres will be made available for building LNG-dispensing stations in bus depots.
The MSRTC has over 17,000 buses and operates approximately 85,000 bus trips daily with more than 65 lakh passengers, on an average, availing themselves of its services daily.
Industry experts said that LNG as a transit fuel is more economical than CNG. Moreover, procurement of LNG is one of the key green fuel and energy security plans for India, experts further stated adding that usbes using LNG can ferry a heavy load at low costs and they can travel up to 600-700 km on a single tank refill, which is up to 2.5 times more than CNG buses. Also, they emit fewer greenhouse gases and pollutants than traditional fuels like diesel
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