Delivered 12,630 tonnes of O2 in over 775 tankers to 13 states: Railways

The railways has delivered nearly 12,630 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen in more than 775 tankers to 13 states across the country, the national transporter said on Thursday.

So far, around 200 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey, while 10 more are currently on their way with more than 784 tonnes of LMO in 45 tankers, it said.

Oxygen Expresses have been delivering more than 800 tonnes of LMO to the nation each day now.

The life-saving gas was delivered to 13 states namely Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, it said.

So far, 521 tonnes of oxygen has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 3,189 tonnes in UP, 521 tonnes in MP, 1,549 tonnes in Haryana, 772 tonnes in Telangana, 98 tonnes in Rajasthan, 641 tonnes in Karnataka, 320 tonnes in Uttarakhand, 584 tonnes in Tamil Nadu, 292 tonnes in Andhra Pradesh, 111 tonnes in Punjab, 118 tonnes in Kerala and over 3,915 tonnes in Delhi.

Criss-crossing the country, the Indian Railways is picking up oxygen from places like Hapa and Mundra in the West and Rourkela, Durgapur, Tatanagar, Angul in the East and then delivering it to the states of Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in complex operational route planning scenarios.

The average speed of these critical freight trains is way above 55 kmph in most cases over long distances. Running on high priority Green Corridor, technical stoppages have been reduced to one minute for crew changes over different sections.

The railways has mapped different routes with oxygen supply locations and keeps itself ready with any emerging need of the states. States provide tankers to the Indian Railways for bringing LMO, it said.