FIRST OXYGEN EXPRESS WITH FOUR CRYOGENIC TANKERS REACHES NATIONAL CAPITAL
NEW DELHI: The first Oxygen Express train for Delhi ferrying four cryogenic tankers carrying liquid medical oxygen (LMO) arrived at the national capital from a Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) plant in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh at 4am on Tuesday, said officials from the railway ministry aware of the development.
“Delhi has received its first Oxygen Express carrying more than 70 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen today (Tuesday) early morning,” said the ministry.
So far, the Indian Railways has far delivered around 450 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in six Oxygen Express trains through 26 tankers covering more than 10,000km since April 19, read a statement released by the ministry of railways on Tuesday.
“Currently, another Oxygen Express is on the run from Bokaro to Bhopal via Jabalpur. This train is carrying 64 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen in six tankers, which will replenish oxygen demand in Madhya Pradesh through the city of Bhopal and Jabalpur,” said the ministry.
“Another empty rake from Lucknow has reached Bokaro, which will bring another set of oxygen tankers, replenishing oxygen supply to Uttar Pradesh,” the ministry added.
Plagued by the acute shortage of oxygen due to a significant rise in Covid-19 cases, more states are seeking the railways’ assistance for delivering LMO on ”Oxygen Express” trains.
The national carrier has planned more Oxygen Express trains to Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the coming weeks. The first Oxygen Express train departed from Mumbai to Vizag on April 19.
On March 18, the Indian railways decided to deploy a firstof-a-kind ‘Oxygen Express’ trains to transport LMO and oxygen cylinders in bulk along key corridors amid high demand from states grappling with the second wave of Covid-19.
“So far, as per provisional estimates, Indian Railways has delivered 202 metric tonnes to Uttar Pradesh, 174 metric tonnes to Maharashtra and 70 metric tonnes to Delhi. Madhya Pradesh will receive 64 metric tonnes in next 24 hours,” said the ministry.