VISAKHAPATNAM: Indian Railways’ Oxygen Express train, which left for Visakhapatnam from Kalamboli goods yard in Navi Mumbai on Monday, was expected to reach the city on Wednesday or in the wee hours of Thursday. In Visakhaspatnam, the tankers will be loaded with medical oxygen produced by Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for transportation to Maharashtra, the Central Railway zone said.
The roll-on-rail-off (Ro-Ro) service carrying seven empty tankers placed on flat wagons, was moving at a speed of 40 kmph and took the route covering Vasai Road, Jalgaon, Nagpur and Raipur Junction.All arrangements have been made at the steel plant siding where the special train will be parked. A ramp was constructed at the yard for moving the empty tankers to the steel plant air separation plant from where liquid medical oxygen will be filled, and an approach road was laid.
Each tanker can carry 15 to 20 tons of liquid oxygen. In all, about 100 tons of liquid medical oxygen will be sent to Maharashtra by the tankers. It is most likely that the Oxygen Express will chug out from Visakhapatnam on Thursday night or Friday early morning.
According to sources, there are several logistics steps before filling the tanker. “The ramp for the RORO service is ready to receive the first Oxygen Express at RINL-VSP. The train is expected early Thursday. The seven empty cryogenic tankers with a total carrying capacity of more than 100 tonnes of LMO will take nearly 20 to 24 hours to complete the process of filling, weighment and safety check as per protocol before it leaves for Maharashtra to meet the medical exigencies of Covid patients,” they said.
Besides, there are tankers waiting from other states, including AP, to get liquid medical oxygen. It may be recalled that VSP has supplied 8,842 tons of the compound to AP and other states from April last year to March this year.On an average, the air separation plant at RINL produces 2,600 tons of oxygen gas and 100 tons of liquid oxygen.