First Oxygen Express for Kerala with 118 MT oxygen reaches Kochi
May 16, 2021
Kochi (Kerala) [India], May 16 : The first oxygen express train for Kerala, carrying six cryogenic containers with 118 Metric Tonnes (MT) liquid medical oxygen reached Vallarpadam terminal of Kochi port here in the early hours of Sunday.
The train came from the Tata Steel plant in Odisha and reached Vallarpadam at 3.30 am.
Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, "The first #OxygenExpress to Kerala has reached Ernakulam from Kalinganagar with medical Oxygen for COVID-19 patients in the State".
According to the Ministry of Railways, Indian Railways has delivered more than 8700 MT of LMO in more than 540 tankers to various states across the country and 139 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far and brought relief to various States.
The ministry informed that the "Oxygen Expresses" have been delivering nearly 800 MT of LMO to the Nation each day for the last few days.
Strict restrictions will be implemented in the four districts of Kerala where triple lockdown will be in force from midnight Sunday, said state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
On Friday, Vijayan had said that an enhanced 'triple lockdown' will be imposed in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram, where the test positivity rate is higher.
According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 4,45,692 active cases in Kerala.
