The Indian Railways has launched a new initiative. Referred to as ‘Oxygen Expresses’, these are special trains that will take oxygen cylinders to people in need. A notification released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) stated that the transportation of oxygen is faster through trains and that they can run round the clock while truck drivers need breaks in between.
The notification also stated that loading and unloading tankers require a ramp. 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 train contains LMO tankers. The tankers filled with the gas will be transported through the Ro-Ro service of the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways will deploy first-of-a-kind ‘Oxygen Express’ trains for 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.
