Facing acute shortage of oxygen supply due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, more states are seeking assistance from the Railways for delivering Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) via ‘Oxygen Express’ trains with Uttar Pradesh becomes the third state to demand the facility after Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The second ‘Oxygen Express’ carrying around seven to eight empty tankers will leave from Lucknow to fill up liquid medical oxygen from Bokaro, Jharkhand.The Indian Railways will deploy first of a kind ‘Oxygen Express’ trains over the next few days to transport Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and Oxygen cylinders in bulk along key corridors amid high demand from states grappling with the second wave of the Covid 19 infection.
With several states reporting a shortage of oxygen, the government on Friday directed them to ensure uninterrupted movement of medical oxygen carrying vehicles along their borders and said they must not impose any curbs on production and supply of the essential public health commodity anywhere.
The first Oxygen Express with seven tankers loaded on a Roll on Roll off train left Kalamboli Goods Yard in Navi Mumbai for Vizag where it will be loaded with liquid medical oxygen for Maharashtra. The train is scheduled to reach Vizag before taking off for Mumbai.
A meeting was held between Railway Board officials and state transport commissioners and representatives of the industry on issues related to the transportation of liquid medical oxygen.The railway ministry on Friday approved the transportation of liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic tankers under its Roll on-Roll off model as a special case following a request from the Maharashtra government.
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