The first 'Oxygen Express' departed from Central Railway's Kalamboli yard in Navi Mumbai on April 19, 2021 to ferry liquid oxygen for Maharashtra from the Vishakhapatnam steel plant in Andhra Pradesh. This comes as India is facing a severe coronavirus situation.
The Ministry of Railways informed that the Mumbai Division had built a ramp overnight within 24 hours at Kalamboli goods yard to facilitate loading and unloading of tankers from flat wagons.
The statement further read that the "The Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) service with seven empty tankers departed from Kalamboli goods yard for Visakhapatnam steel plant siding at 8.05 pm on Monday."
Railways is running its first Oxygen Express in its fight against COVID-19. The Ro-Ro service with 7 empty tankers departed from Kalamboli, Maharashtra for Vizag today.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 19, 2021
Oxygen Express will move via a green corridor for loading with Liquid Medical Oxygen. pic.twitter.com/TonlClDdQf
Oxygen Express: Key Highlights
•The Oxygen Express train will travel through Vasai Road, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Raipur Junction to the Visakhapatnam steel plant.
•It is carrying 7 empty tankers and they will be loaded with Liquid Medical Oxygen once the train reaches the Vizag steel plant.
•The Liquid Medical Oxygen will then be transported back to Maharashtra. This comes as the state faces a shortage of medical oxyen to treat COVID-19 patients.
•In fact, the demand for medical oxygen has shot up in several parts of the country in the wake of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the country.
•The Railways is hence, expected to run the Oxygen Express over the next few days to transport liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country.
| Railway Minister Piyush Goyal informed on April 18, 2021 that the central government was creating a green corridor for fast movement of 'Oxygen Express' trains to facilities for the smooth transport of oxygen to states. He stated that a decision has been taken to begin transportation of oxygen cylinders or tankers in trains. While the transportation of cylinders has already begun, Green corridors will be created to ensure a fast supply of oxygen. The Minister added saying that military wagons will be used to transport 3.3 meter high tankers and these trains will not be stopped so that they can reach their destination at a high speed. |
Background
Many states have been reporting a shortage of medical supplies across India including beds and medical oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients amid the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation