First 'Oxygen Express' carrying 7 tankers reaches Maharashtra's Nagpur from Visakhapatnam

The Oxygen Express departed from Visakhapatnam on April 22 night. The flat-wagon goods train had left for Visakhapatnam from Kalamboli near Mumbai on April 19, around 8 pm. After more than 50 hours' journey, it reached the destination, passing through Vapi, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhusawal, Akole, Nagpur, Gondia, Raipur and Titagarh.

ANI photo

New Delhi: Amid the acute shortage of medical oxygen in several parts of the country, Roll On Roll Off Oxygen Express, with seven cryogenic tankers, arrived at Nagpur Junction Railway from Visakhapatnam on Friday (April 23) evening. The train arrived at Nagpur at 8.10 pm, bringing some relief to the state which is reeling under a surge in coronavirus cases and shortages of medical oxygen. According to ANI report, at least three of the seven tankers were unloaded at Nagpur Junction railway station. The train carrying the large oxygen tankers pulled out from a facility run by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) in Visakhapatnam on Thursday evening.

Each tanker is carrying 15 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen. "A joint effort by Waltair Division of East Coast Railways, and officials of RINL made the project a success. This will prove to be highly beneficial during the recent upsurge in COVID-19," the railways said in a statement on Thursday.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had tweeted a video of the train preparing to pull out from the RINL facility. The railways will run the "Oxygen Express" train from steel plants that produce oxygen to different parts of the country.

The train departed from Visakhapatnam on Thursday night. The flat-wagon goods train had left for Visakhapatnam from Kalamboli near Mumbai on April 19, around 8 pm. After more than 50 hours' journey, it reached the destination, passing through Vapi, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhusawal, Akole, Nagpur, Gondia, Raipur and Titagarh.

Last Sunday, the Railways had announced it will run "Oxygen Express" trains over the next few days to transport liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country. Empty tankers will be loaded with medical oxygen from Visakhapatnam, Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Bokaro, it had said.

Amid spiralling coronavirus cases in the country, the demand for medical oxygen has gone through the roof.