MUMBAI:The price of diesel for bulk users, such as public transport buses, trains, industries, airports and malls, was hiked by Rs 25 per litre on Sunday. This has increased the operational costs by 27% for such users, sources in the oil marketing companies said.
The price hike is a fallout of the recent increase in global crude oil rates due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Sources in the MSRTC, which operates buses across Maharashtra, said they will either absorb the hike burden or send some of their buses to private retail pumps to fill up diesel — where prices will be cheaper as compared to bulk user rate of around Rs 120 per litre.
Apart from public transport buses, the railways will also be affected by the hike to some extent as it operates diesel engines. A senior central Railway official, however, said in 2021-22, there was a huge saving of Rs 88 crore on diesel expenditure by adopting Head On Generation (HOG) in which power is fed from an electric locomotive that draws power directly from electric traction through pantograph to meet requirement in coaches of Mail Express trains for air conditioners, electric bulbs, fans and pantry, etc.
