The first Ultra 9/9m AC Electric bus was flagged off today in Lucknow by the Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development, Suresh Kumar Khanna along with dignitaries from LCTSL and Tata Motors
Reaffirming its commitment towards E-mobility in the country. India’s largest bus manufacturer has announced that it will supply 255 electric Ultra busses to six state transport undertakings in the next four months.
The company has already started delivering the busses to Lucknow Transport Corporation and West Bengal Transport Corporation. Manufactured at Tata Marcopolo’s Dharwad plants with extensive trials in different geographic conditions of the country, the 9-metre Ultra Electric busses are air conditioned and have modern comfortable interiors with a capacity for seating 31 passengers.
The Li-ion batteries have smartly been placed on the rooftop to prevent breakdown due to water logging. The batteries are liquid cooled to maintain the temperature within an optimum range.
Tata Marcoplo Ultra Electric AC supplied to West Bengal Transport Corporation. Pic credits -Tutin
Tata Motors has stated that the electric busses can cover a maximum distance of 150 kms on a single charge. Adding to the flexibility of providing charging infrastructure, Tata Motors has installed a fast charging station at Alambagh depot of Lucknow Transport Corporation.
Speaking on the occasion of delivery of busses to Lucknow Transport Corporation, Mr. Rohit Srivastava, Product Line Head – Passenger Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, said, “Tata Motors has always been at the forefront of the E-mobility evolution and this order is a testament of our best-in-class solution tailored for the bus segment in India. The order is part of the 255 e-buses to be supplied to six STUs in the country, of which LCTSL is one. Our in-depth understanding of sustainable public transport for different markets and customers is what differentiates us from our competitors. We are determined to develop alternate fuel technologies and create more energy efficient vehicles.
Powering the bus is a 333hp integrated electric motor generator that is capable of delivering 197hp continuously thus ensuring effortless driving in congested roads and frequent start/stops. An industry first “Air Suspension” has been offered on both front and rear axles to make travel for comfortable for daily commuters. Critical electric traction commuters have been internationally sourced from best in class suppliers offering proven products from USA, Germany and China.
Pic credits – Tutin
Dr. A.K. Jindal, Head Engineering (Electric & Defence), CVBU, Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors has been engaging in advanced engineering and development of electric traction system for Hybrid as well as Pure Electric vehicles for over a decade. The Ultra Electric Bus is a new modular platform which has been developed in a very short lead time of less than a year, leveraging the knowledge and experience we have gained and demonstrating our commitment to the Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan for Public Transport.”
“The architecture of the platform has been conceived and developed by in-house engineering team of Tata Motors, meeting the requirement of various tenders floated by different state transport undertakings. The exterior has been designed with new brand identity that includes stylized Ultra headlamps and streamlined looks. The vehicle architecture ensures very low energy consumption and low TCO (total cost of operation) apart from being a Zero Emission environment friendly bus.”
The buses have been tested and validated by Tata Motors across states including Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Assam and Maharashtra to establish performance in diverse terrains. We hope to see these busses plying in Goa under Kadamba Transport Corporations Limited soon enough.
Pic credits – Tutin
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