The tankers will be loaded with liquid oxygen in Vishakhapatnam for transportation to Maharashtra.
The central railway today said that the first “Oxygen Express” carrying seven empty tankers left from near Mumbai on Monday for Visakhapatnam. The tankers will be loaded with liquid oxygen in Vishakhapatnam for transportation to Maharashtra.
The Ro-Ro (roll-on-roll-off) train with seven empty tankers, as per a Central Railway release, left for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from Kalamboli goods yard in Navi Mumbai, about 40km from state capital Mumbai, at 8:05 pm.
The tankers will be loaded with liquid medical oxygen at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and will be brought to Maharashtra, which is facing a shortage of the life-saving gas needed for treatment of critical COVID-19 patients, the release said.
“Railways is running its first Oxygen Express in its fight against COVID-19. The Ro-Ro service with 7 empty tankers departed from Kalamboli, Maharashtra for Vizag today. Oxygen Express will move via a green corridor for loading with Liquid Medical Oxygen,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted.
In order to facilitate loading and unloading of tankers in and from flat wagons, the Central Railway’s Mumbai Division built a ramp within 24 hours at Kalamboli goods yard, the release said.
Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab, as per sources, was present when the train left for the port city in Andhra Pradesh.
The Railways on Sunday has announced that it will run “Oxygen Express” over the next few days to transport liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country.
Under this initiative by the Railways, in order to tackle the shortage of oxygen, empty tankers will be loaded with liquid medical oxygen from Visakhapatnam, Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Bokaro for supply all over the country, officials had said.
In the wake of the more intense second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for medical oxygen in the country has gone through the roof.
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