2nd Oxygen Express reaches Lucknow, will ensure oxygen availability in UP: Piyush Goyal

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday informed that the Indian Railways' second Oxygen Express reached Lucknow from Jharkhand's Bokaro on Saturday morning and it will ensure "oxygen availability in Uttar Pradesh" amid the unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases.

"Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the government is continuously taking steps to supply oxygen throughout the country. In this sequence, Indian Railways run second Oxygen Express reached its destination Lucknow from Bokaro. This will ensure oxygen availability in Uttar Pradesh," tweeted Goyal on Saturday.

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 first Oxygen Express train, that left Visakhapatnam on Thursday, arrived in Maharashtra's Nagpur Friday evening with seven tankers carrying the life-saving medical gas.

"Railways transported essential commodities and kept the supply chain intact even during the lockdown last year and continue to serve the nation in times of emergencies. This time, the movement of 'Oxygen Express' towards different parts of the country will help patients and different hospitals," the railways had earlier said in a statement.

Uttar Pradesh is currently witnessing a surge in cases. As per the union health ministry, there are currently 2,73,653 active cases in the state.

( With inputs from ANI )