The Oxygen Express departed from Chhattisgarh at 11:05 am today, the Railways said (File)
New Delhi:
An Oxygen Express train with 64.55 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) left for Delhi from Chhattisgarh today as the demand for the life saving gas skyrocketted due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the national capital, the Indian Railways said.
The Oxygen Express departed from Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh at 11:05 am today, the Railways said.
Four tankers in Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) mode were loaded onto Military Bogie Well Type (MBWT) wagons from Raigarh’s Jindal Steel and Power Limited at 11:35 pm on Sunday, it said.
The Indian Railways is running “Oxygen Express” trains and will continue to run them over the next few days to transport liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country. Roll-on-roll-off trucks are being transported on flat wagons by the trains for a quick supply of medical oxygen.
The central government has also restricted the use of liquid oxygen for non-medical purposes with immediate effect with the Ministry of Home Affairs announcing that the use of liquid oxygen will be allowed for medical purposes only.
Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 22,933 fresh cases of coronavirus with 21,071 discharges, and 350 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Delhi health department informed. The national capital’s positivity rate stands at 30.21 per cent and there are currently 94,592 active cases. 9,18,875 positive cases, and 14,248 deaths have been reported so far.
Amid the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.