Delhi puts in request for 'O2 Express'; demand likely to be met from Rourkela
New Delhi: Facing a severe shortage of medical oxygen, the Delhi government has requested the Railways to operate 'Oxygen Express' trains to save COVID-19 patients gasping for breath in the city's hospitals, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said on Friday. The request came minutes after a meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers of states having high COVID-19 caseloads, including Delhi.
In the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to provide medical oxygen to the national capital.
The Delhi government is the latest to have lined up for 'Oxygen Express' services, after Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Sharma said.
Each tanker of 'Oxygen Express' trains can carry around 16 tonnes of medical oxygen, he said, adding these trains travel at a speed of around 65 kmph.
"We have received a request from Delhi just now, and we are still planning its movement. We will likely get the oxygen from Rourkela," the Railway Board chairman said.
"Andhra Pradesh has asked for oxygen to be moved from Angul in Odisha. We have asked the Delhi government to keep their trucks ready, and our wagons, ramps are ready in the NCR area," he added.
Sharma said the 'Oxygen Express' train headed for Uttar Pradesh will reach Lucknow on Saturday, and the one for Maharashtra will reach Nagpur on Friday night and then proceed towards Nashik, from where oxygen will be dispersed to different cities. Deaths due to the lack of oxygen have been reported from across the country, and it was on the suggestion of the Maharashtra and the Madhya Pradesh governments that the Railways planned a policy to transport liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic tankers to states on request. The first such train was pushed into service on April 19, when seven trucks left Mumbai for Vizag to load oxygen. These trucks were loaded on flat wagons and carried to the loading location.
Asked why the 'Oxygen Express' trains were taking so long to reach their destinations, Sharma said it was because of the sensitive material they are carrying.
