COVID-19: ‘Oxygen Express’ with 65 tonnes of life-saving gas reaches Delhi

COVID-19 'Oxygen Express' with 65 tonnes of life-saving gas reaches Delhi

NEW DELHI: The first ‘Oxygen Express’ train for Delhi carrying around 65 tonnes of life-saving gas reached the national capital early on Tuesday morning.

The train, which departed from the Jindal Steel Plant in Raigarh of Chhattisgarh having 64.55 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) on Monday night, arrived at the Delhi Cantt station.

“Oxygen Express has reached Delhi from Raigarh, Chhattisgarh with Oxygen for patients in the capital. Indian Railways is leaving no stone unturned in our collective fight against Covid-19, and ensuring sufficient availability of life-saving resources across the country,” Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal wrote on Twitter.

This oxygen will now be disbursed by the Delhi government to various hospitals.

In view of the rising demand for oxygen, the Indian Railways decided to run ‘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.

Delhi on Monday reported 20,201 new COVID-19 cases and 380 deaths, the highest single-day toll for the national capital since the outbreak of the pandemic. (ANI)