BENGALURU: In a much-needed relief to Karnataka, the first Oxygen Express carrying 120 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen chugged safely into the yard of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Whitefield in Bengaluru at 9.35 am on Tuesday.
The train from Tatanagar in Jharkhand, which commenced its journey on Monday at 3 am bearing six cryogenic containers, covered 1,833 Kms across four States before it reached Bengaluru. The total travel time was 29 hours and 35 minutes.
A signal-free Green Corridor was created for the train for the speedy transportation of oxygen. An official release said the train was run following a request made by Karnataka on May 1. Linde India is the oxygen supplier.
Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager AK Verma, who was at the depot to welcome the train, said: "This being the first oxygen train entering our State we were all slightly anxious as there could always be teething problems. Thankfully, everything ended on a perfect note for us."
ALSO READ | Be ready for third Covid wave, says BSY
The train was handed over to the Bengaluru Division at Jolarpettai at 7.19 am. "Within our Division, it was run at the speed of Shatabdi trains. It reached Whitefield at 8.52 am, taking just 93 minutes to cover the distance. It ran at 80.5 km/hr in our limits," the DRM said. The station masters en route and the guards at level crossing gates were instructed to ensure the train did not have to wait anywhere, he said. "It only stopped briefly for change of loco crew," he added.
Chief Public Relations Officer, South Western Railway, Aneesh Hegde, said, "After commencing its trip from Jharkhand, it went via West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu before entering Karnataka."
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager AN Krishna Reddy said, "A Restacker was used to remove the containers from the train and place them in the siding. The containers would be shifted to the other side of the yard and the oxygen would be transferred to oxygen tankers. They would head to the filling points or hospitals as the State government wants."
The train with empty tankers will shortly be sent to Kalinga Nagar in Odisha from where our next oxygen consignment is slated for transportation, he added. Group Manager of Container Corporation of India Limited, Bengaluru, which runs the ICD, said, "Today's successful venture is an outcome of collaboration between Indian Railways and CONCOR. Our partnership is in place across the country. "
ALSO WATCH: