Oxygen Express chugs into Karnataka with 6 cryogenic containers carrying medical O2

The first Oxygen Express to Karnataka with six cryogenic containers carrying medical oxygen arrived at Inland Container Depot, Whitefield Bengaluru, at 9.35am on May 11. The special train started from Tatanagar (Jamshedpur, Jharkhand) on May 10 at 3am.

Railways created a signal-free ‘Green Corridor’ to enable swift transport of this Oxygen Express, that is, this train has a free stoppage-free run and did not have to wait for crossing/passage of another train. 

It traversed a distance of 1833 km at an average speed of 55.66kmph and took a time of 29 hrs 35 minutes to reach the destination. Each cryogenic container carried 20 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen that weighed 120 tonnes. On May 1, the Karnataka government had requested Indian Railways to assist in the transportation of liquid medical oxygen. Indian Railways stepped up their assistance immediately and responded positively to the request of the state government. 

A ramp was built at the satellite goods terminal, Whitefield on a RoRo model of transport for easy loading/unloading oxygen trucks. Railways have taken a lot of care in smooth transport of Oxygen throughout India by ensuring green corridor, efficient maintenance of assets and several concessions such as exemption of development surcharge, busy season surcharge, terminal access charge for oxygen container transport. 

So far, Railways throughout India have transported more than 4700 million tonnes of Oxygen for Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh using over 75 oxygen express trains. This Oxygen Express that reached the ICD at Whitefield is expected to bring relief to Covid19 patients of Karnataka and strengthen the collective effort of the health authorities in the fight against the Covid19 pandemic.

This post has been published in arrangement with Jaideep J Shenoy