Delivered 7,900 tonnes of medical oxygen to 12 states so far: Railways

New Delhi, May 14

Railways has delivered nearly 7,900 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) in nearly 500 tankers to 12 states across the country since April 19, the national transporter said on Friday.

Oxygen Express trains have been delivering nearly 800 tonnes of LMO daily across the country over the last few days, it said.

Oxygen Expresses started their LMO deliveries on April 19, when empty tankers from Mumbai started for Vijaywada to be loaded with 126 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen.

“Crisscrossing the country, Indian Railways is picking up oxygen from places like Hapa and  Mundra in the West and Rourkela, Durgapur, Tatanagar, Angul in the East and then delivering it to States of Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, MP, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi and UP in complex operational route planning scenarios,” the Railways said in a statement.

The average speed of these critical trains is above 55 kmph in most cases over long distances, it said.

Running on high priority ‘Green Corridor', operational teams of various zones are working round the clock in most challenging circumstances to ensure that oxygen reaches in the fastest possible time frame. Technical stoppages have been reduced to one minute for crew changes over different sections, the statement said.

It said first Oxygen Expresses for Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are on their way with 40 tonnes and 118 tonnes of oxygen relief, respectively.

First Oxygen Express to Tamil Nadu delivered 80 tonnes on Friday morning and the second Oxygen Express is on the way to deliver more life-saving gas, the statement said.

It may be noted that 130 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far and brought relief to various states, it said.

Till Friday, 462 tonnes of oxygen has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 2,210 tonnes in UP, 408 tonnes in MP, 1,228 tonnes in Haryana, 308 tonnes in Telangana, 72 tonnes in Rajasthan, 120 tonnes in Karnataka, 80 tonnes in Uttarakhand, 80 tonnes in Tamil Nadu and more than 2,934 tonnes in Delhi, the statement said.

Railways have mapped different routes with oxygen supply locations and keeps itself ready with any emerging need of the states. States provide tankers to the Indian Railways for bringing LMO, it said. — PTI 

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