COVID-19: Oxygen Express reaches Nashik, four tankers unloaded

The first Roll On Roll Off (RORO) Oxygen Express, which departed from Visakhapatnam yesterday, reached Nashik railway station with seven oxygen tankers on Saturday.

The Railways said in a release that the Oxygen Express reached Nagpur at 10.25 am today.Four tankers will be unloaded at Nasik Road station in Maharashtra.

The train was carrying 100 tonnes of medical liquid oxygen from Rashtriya IspatNigam Ltd in Vishakhapatnam, from where it had begun its journey on April 22.

The Railways said it transported essential commodities and kept the supply chain intact even during the lockdown last year and continued to serve the nation in times of emergencies. The green corridors are helping in fast movement of Oxygen Express.

Transportation of oxygen through trains is faster over long distances than road transport. Trains can run 24 hours in a day, but truck drivers need to take halts, it said.

Last Sunday, the railways had announced that it would run ''Oxygen Express'' trains over the next few days to transport liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country.

Amid spiralling coronavirus cases in the country, the demand for medical oxygen has gone through the roof.

Maharashtra | Oxygen Express arrives in Nashik from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh pic.twitter.com/ZdTOXOPmdj

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2021