Power T&D offers significant business opportunity, both in India and abroad: Transrail Lighting
- July 7, 2026
Transrail Lighting Ltd is a fully-integrated engineering-led EPC company capable of delivering end-to-end solutions across the power transmission value chain. Fiscal year FY26 was the best-ever year in the company’s history and it also marked a year of the company’s stock exchange listing. On this momentous occasion, T&D India met up with Randeep Narang, Managing Director & CEO, Transrail Lighting Ltd, to know more about Transrail’s achievements and its future plans. Narang, while discussing company-centric and industry-related issues, exudes strong business optimism about the power transmission sector, both in India and abroad. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
It has been over a year since Transrail Lighting got listed on stock exchanges. How has this changed the company’s corporate complexion?
Even as an unlisted public company then, we were a process- and compliance-oriented organization with strong values — a company that was getting ready for listing. Now we have further strengthened transparency in communication and made our compliance processes more rigorous. We are looking at the risk matrix very carefully. We want to make sure that all our stakeholders and investors who have joined us enjoy the value creation. At the same time, we remain committed to providing fair, transparent and credible guidance and we believe this consistency has been key to building and sustaining trust.
Transrail, as we can easily see, has had a memorable FY26. Take us through the year.
Yes, the year FY26 was exceptionally good. We exceeded our revenue guidance. With Rs.6,880 crore of operating revenue it was a growth of 30 per cent. To me, this has been the best-ever result for Transrail. In terms of EBITA level, we ended FY26 with 11.9 per cent, while we had given a guidance of 11.5 to 12 per cent.
Our order intake in FY26, at Rs.8,500 crore, had a good mix of international and domestic orders and these include orders across our verticals. Equally encouraging was our cash flow performance. Cash flow from operations doubled from Rs.415 crore in FY25 to Rs.817 crore in FY26. Our working capital cycle also improved significantly with working capital days reducing from 91 days in FY25 to 81 days in FY26.
We truly believe that the emphasis on full years’ growth is what we had planned and we achieved it. I would say this was one of the best years in the history of Transrail.
We believe your order book as of March 31, 2026 was the highest ever in any fiscal.
Yes, as of March 31, 2026, we had an order book of Rs.16,313 crore. Last year, it was Rs.14,551 crore. The good part is that the order book is well balanced — almost 60 per cent is domestic and 40 per cent international. While power T&D constitutes more than 90 per cent of the orderbook, the rest is shared by our other growing businesses.
We also have a good bid pipeline of domestic and international orders worth Rs.1,50,000 crore. This year, FY27, we can look at around Rs.10,000 crore of new order inflow, which will further strengthen our orderbook.
We perceive that Transrail always had a conscious inclination towards international orders. What is your take?
It is well balanced. Almost 40 per cent of our orderbook is international. We have been focusing on international markets with a conscious and strategic mindset, and, over the years, have been working extensively for projects funded by multilateral funding agencies. It is a fact that international projects often offer better commercial terms, including mechanisms such as price variation clauses, payment terms, etc which help protect margins and enhance overall project economics.
We view every international order as an opportunity to balance the order and margin. We have a risk matrix that we diligently analyze to screen the projects at the bidding stage itself.
Despite your wide international presence, are there untapped geographies that you would be interested in?
The world is a very wide! We have our historic footprint in 63 countries and we are currently working in 22 countries. The rest of the world is there for us to tap. We are currently present in Africa, Southeast Asia, the SAARC region, partly in Middle East, etc. Even here, there is huge opportunity.
Our decision to enter a particular geography depends on the opportunity, the client, the terrain, the margin profile, the funding agency, etc.
We reckon that you entered some new international markets in FY26.
Yes, we entered new countries like Abu Dhabi, Djibouti, Botswana and Tunisia. We believe that every year, we should enter 2-3 new countries.
Tell us about the major capacity expansion that you undertook in FY26. How does the overall capacity?
So, with respect to transmission towers, we did a brownfield expansion – both in Deoli (Maharashtra) and in Vadodara (Gujarat). As part of our greenfield expansion we have also commissioned a tower manufacturing plant at Butibori in Nagpur, Maharashtra, with capacity of approximately 50,000 MTPA (metric tonnes per year). This facility commenced operations towards the end of April 2026 and is expected to play a key role in supporting our future growth. With this, our capacity, from a level of 84,000 MTPA has gone up to 1,72,400 MTPA. There is still some more brownfield to go, post which we shall reach an inhouse capacity of 1,96,000 MTPA. The additional capacity is expected to become operational during Q2FY27.
What about the conductor plant at Silvassa?
The conductor plant capacity is going to increase from 24,000 km per year to 49,500 per year. This expansion is progressing as planned and is expected to be operational by the end of Q2FY27 or early Q3FY27.
High-performance conductors (HPC) are gaining wide acceptance of late.
We are already supplying high-temperature low sag (HTLS) conductors to various clients in India, and even internationally.
We have a mix of varieties – AL59, ASCR, HTLS, etc – that our factory is equipped to make. We also have a business development team to look at newer emerging types of conductors.
How is your partnership with Epsilon progressing?
Yes, our HTLS conductors are manufactured using high-efficiency carbon cores sourced from Epsilon of France. With increasing demand for grid modernisation and renewable energy integration, HTLS conductors are emerging as a key transmission solution. Transrail offers a comprehensive range of HTLS conductors to meet diverse utility requirements.
Very recently, Transrail approved additional capex of around Rs.200 crore. Tell us more.
The recently approved capex of approximately Rs.200 crore is a mainly for procuring site construction equipment and some factory machine upgrades. These would be invested over a period of time.
We have always perceived Transrail to be a completely backward-integrated company. How has this brought about cost and operational efficiency?
We are a fully-integrated engineering-led EPC company capable of delivering end-to-end solutions across the power transmission value chain. We manufacture towers, monopoles and even full range of conductors. Our strength lies in engineering and design. Every business vertical has it own engineering team. We understand the client’s requirement thoroughly and design the whole system accordingly.
Beyond turnkey EPC execution, we also provide specialised product supply solutions, where our role extends far beyond manufacturing. We work closely with customers to engineer products that are specifically designed to meet the technical and execution requirements of their projects, even when the EPC scope is being executed by the client or another contractor.
This backward integration gives us the strength to supply the product on time by reducing dependency on external suppliers for the critical components, and also supports margin improvement.
For transmission lines, securing right-of-way (RoW) has been a perennial concern. Is innovative transmission hardware contributing towards easing RoW concerns?
This is a complex question! I recently had the opportunity to speak on this subject at India Energy Forum, where the discussion focused on the evolving execution requirements of the industry and the challenges associated with Right of Way (RoW).
There is definitely new-age hardware and techniques that can address the RoW issue, for instance insulated cross arms, use of monopoles, engineering optimization by using LiDAR survey, advanced design software, drone-based stringing, etc.
These are tools to just assist, however If the core RoW issue is not managed on time, there is bound to be project delay. RoW, on the ground, has to be managed by the project owner in a timely manner. This needs proper planning.
For us at Transrail, we have marquee clients and we are working collaboratively to address these RoW issues.
Has the upward revision in land compensation rates eased land acquisition?
It has certainly helped but I am sure there are still ground level challenges. This is something that the government is working actively and they have said that they are further bringing standardization and community engagement. This could lead to better RoW management.
How important is effective communication with land owners for land acquisition?
It is very important. Landowners need to be explained the benefit of the project to the country and to the economy. This is all about communication. We have seen higher focus on this in the more developed economies.
We appreciate that Transrail has newly won an HVDC transmission line order. Tell us more.
Yes, it is a recent order from a very reputed Indian client for a large section of their crucial 500kV double-circuit HVDC transmission line. In fact with this now, we are doing one HVDC Transmission lines contract each for a Central utility and a private utility. It is worthwhile to note that, we have already executed couple of HVDC jobs in the past.
With respect to HVDC lines, we are fully compliant, thanks to our past experience and focus on UHV lines.
There are some Rs.6,000 crore worth of HVDC jobs in the pipeline, mainly in Rajasthan. We will be keenly bidding for HVDC transmission lines; it is something that are looking forward to!
From a technical perspective, how different are HVDC lines from the conventional EHV AC lines?
HVDC transmission lines, are typically large 500kV and 800kV and hence the towers are heavier and the conductor is also special.
The nature of the job is essentially bigger. This calls for more resources and a bigger mobilization of teams. Since we have been focusing on 765kV lines, this is relatively easy for us.
What is your take on the shortage of skill manpower, especially for transmission lines?
It is known that the supply of subcontractors specializing in erection and stringing is less than the demand. There is also a seasonality in manpower availability. Besides, festivities also have an influence on the availability of manpower.
However, as an EPC company, we need to be solution-oriented. We ensure that our subcontractors are compensated appropriately and are provided with a stable and professional working environment. Our objective is to build long-term associations based on trust, performance and mutual growth.
We believe that when people enjoy working with an organization and see value in the relationship it fosters loyalty and continuity.
With so much experience in building power transmission infrastructure, does Transrail intend to look at the development side?
We don’t have any such plans; we are a pureplay EPC company! Over the years, we have built strong capabilities in EPC and this remains our core strength. We believe there is significant opportunity ahead in the power T&D, both in India and in international markets. Our focus area will continue to be power T&D to the extent of 85 to 90 per cent. The rest will be a mix of other verticals.
Even as power T&D dominates Transrail’s business, what are the other areas you will be looking at?
We are looking at substations, solar EPC, bridges, railway electrification, solar lighting through our poles divisions. This will be for both the domestic and international markets.
How do you see the years ahead for Transrail Lighting?
Transrail Lighting is a fully backward-integrated EPC company with strong engineering, manufacturing and execution skills. An exceptional combination that sets us apart in the industry.
We are supported by a highly skilled workforce and continue to attract some of the best talent in the sector. As a result, Transrail continues to grow from strength to strength, expanding its capabilities and market presence.
Furthermore, we are very optimistic about the future. The domestic market potential in the next 3-5 years is huge with more than Rs.9 trillion being invested by 2032. The international opportunity, at around Rs. 60,000 crore each year, is also immense.
We are looking to expand in newer countries from 63 today. So, the future is bright. The next 3-5 years, you will see Transrail reaching even greater heights and successfully delivering on its promises.
All industrial images show manufacturing/testing facilities of Transrail Lighting Ltd, and power transmission projects executed by the company.