THE FIRST OXYGEN EXPRESS TO KARNATAKA, WITH 6 CRYOGENIC CONTAINERS CARRYING MEDICAL OXYGEN ARRIVED AT ICD, WHITEFIELD BENGALURU
The First Oxygen Express to Karnataka, with 6 Cryogenic Containers carrying Medical Oxygen arrived at Inland Container Depot, Whitefield Bengaluru, at 09.35 am today (11.05.2021). It had started from Tatanagar (Jamshedpur, Jharkhand) yesterday at 03:00 am.
A signal free 'Green Corridor' was created by the Railways to enable swift transport of this Oxygen Express, i.e. this train has run stoppage free, and has not had to wait for crossing/passage of another train. It traversed a distance of 1833 km with average speed of 55.66 kmph and took a time of 29 hrs 35 minutes to reach the destination. Each cryogenic container carried 20 Tonnes Liquid Medical Oxygen. Total tonnage: 120 Tonnes.
On May 1, 2021, Govt of Karnataka had requested Indian Railways to assist in transportation of LMO. Indian Railways had stepped up their assistance immediately and responded positively to the request of State Government. A ramp was built at Satellite Goods Terminal, Whitefield for easy loading/unloading Oxygen Trucks (for RoRo model of transport).
Railways have taken a lot of care in smooth transport of Oxygen throughout the country by ensuring green corridor, efficient maintenance of assets and several concessions such as exemption of development surcharge, busy season surcharge, Terminal Access Charge etc for Oxygen container transport. So far, throughout India over 75 Oxygen Express trains have transported more than 4700 Million Tonnes of Oxygen for COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka & Uttar Pradesh.
This Oxygen Express is expected to bring relief to Covid -19 patients of Karnataka and strengthen the collective effort in the fight against Covid19 Pandemic.
Chief Public Relations Officer South Western Railway, Hubballi
