Volvo bags Rs 60 cr order from VRL for 51 multi-axle buses

Leading bus transport service provider VRL Logistics today said it has placed an order for 51 multi-axle intercity coaches worth Rs60 crore with Volvo Buses India.
"We have placed an order with Volvo Buses for 51 multi-axle intercity coaches worth Rs 60 crore," VRL Logistics Limited Vice President (Travels) Prabhu Salageri toldreporters.
He said VRL operates Volvo buses on one of the longest routes in India at present, connecting Bengaluru to Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and plans to operate in new routes including Bengaluru-Nashik, Bengaluru-Nagpur and Bengaluru-Indore.
The other new routes being planned are Goa-Mumbai, Nagpur-Pune, Visakhapatnam-Chennai and
Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam, he added.

Salageri said there is a spurt in demand for roadtravel because of improved road conditions and problems inbooking train or flight tickets.

"The improved road conditions and reduction in travel time has increased demand for road travel, and hence it has prompted us to expand by operating in new cities.
"Train takes 24 hours to reach Mumbai from Bengaluru, but our buses reach the destination in 16 hours, and hence people are preferring to travel by road. Also train and air tickets are not available on immediate basis," Salageri said.
Volvo Buses Business Head (India and South Asia) V R V Sriprasad said the order includes a mix of Volvo 9400XLand Volvo 9400PX multi-axle models with I-Shift, designed to impart highest levels of comfort to passengers and drivers.

"Apart from bringing in new technologies and features, Volvo's focus is on imparting quality training to drivers," Sriprasad said.
"Volvo has trained over 26,000 bus drivers till dateand this gives us confidence to focus on the entire concept of safety," he said.
Volvo has sold over 5,400 buses in India, besides catering to the export markets in the SAARC region and SouthAfrica, Sriprasad said.
The company also manufactures the Volvo 8400 city bus, nearly 1,500 units of which are helping millions of people in 34 cities with their daily commute, he added.
Founded in 1976 by Vijay Sankeshwar, VRL has the largest fleet of commercial vehicles in India with 4,077 vehicles, which include 373 buses and 3,704 trucks, Salageri said.

VRL is also the largest Volvo bus fleet operator among private operators with 140 coaches, he said.
It has a strong presence across the South and West regions, supported by a professional team and maintenance infrastructure, the company said.