New Delhi: Indian Railways on Thursday said that operations under ‘Oxygen Express’ has been now expanded to Haryana and Telangana after transporting life-saving Oxygen to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
Noting that Oxygen Express trains has continued to bring relief to the States, the officials in the Ministry of Railway said that Haryana would receive its first Oxygen Express with two tankers, is expected to leave Angul (Orissa) today.
They also informed that empty rake from Faridabad to Rourkela is also on its way and expected to reach there tonight. Continuous stream of Oxygen trains to Haryana will ensure oxygen replenishment to the Covid-19 patients in the state.
Continuing the momentum, the officials further said “There are three more trains on the run either carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) and on the way to the loading plants. It is expected that cumulative LMO carried by Indian railways will reach almost 640 MT in next 24 hours”.
Sharing breakup of the Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) transported to different parts of the country, the officials said, Uttar Pradesh received its Oxygen express Number 5 carrying 76.29 MT of LMO today in five tankers.
“Out of these, one tanker was offloaded in Varanasi while the remaining four tankers were offloaded in Lucknow. Train Number 6 is already on its way to Lucknow and is expected to arrive tomorrow carrying 33.18 MT LMO in four tankers. Another empty rake is expected to leave Lucknow today for bringing the next set of oxygen tankers,” a senior Railways official said.
“The Telangana Government has also requested Indian Railways for Oxygen express. An empty rake is on its way from Secunderabad to Angul with five empty tankers and is expected to reach Angul tomorrow, another official privy to these development said.
The Railways in a statement said, it is in full preparedness for providing oxygen transportation services to all the states in need. “In the ongoing operation, States provide tankers to the Railway. Railway then proceeds in the fastest feasible mode to bring the Oxygen supplies from the locations and delivers it the requisitioning State. The deployment and use of this Oxygen is done by the State Governments,” it said.
“Liquid Oxygen, being a cryogenic cargo, has many limitations like maximum speed at which it can be carried, maximum acceleration and deceleration and loading restrictions like availability of liquid oxygen tankers and loading ramps etc, the Ministry noted in its statement, while adding that route mapping also “takes care of the maximum clearances available along the route owing to the various Road Under Bridges and Foot Over Bridges.
|