Facing acute shortage of oxygen supply due to the rising number of Covid 19 cases, more states are seeking railways’ assistance for delivering Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) via ‘Oxygen Express’ trains. The national carrier has planned more Oxygen Express trains to Andhra Pradesh, UP, Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and MP in the coming weeks. Four cryogenic tankers carrying Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) on board the ‘Oxygen Express’ train are scheduled to depart from Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) steel plant in Raigargh, Chhattisgarh for New Delhi tonight, the railway ministry said on Sunday.
“One Oxygen Express train carrying four tankers (around 70 metric tonnes of LMO) will depart tonight for Delhi Cantt. from JSPL, Raigarh,” a railway ministry spokesperson said.
The Indian Railways has so far moved 10 oxygen tankers of total 150 MT with 9 more on the move, railway board chairman Suneet Sharma said at a press conference on Sunday.
This comes at a time when Delhi hospitals are struggling with an acute shortage of oxygen for the sixth consecutive day with some ending up turning away Covid-19 patients. On Saturday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sent an urgent SOS to chief ministers of all states, requesting them to send to the national capital whatever surplus oxygen and tankers that they could spare.