NEW DELHI: The railway board on Friday approved
Maharashtra government's request for
transportation of liquid medical oxygen on cryogenic
tankers by rail. These will be transported under the Roll on Roll Off (RO-RO) scheme, which means the trucks loaded with liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic tanks will be put on the railway wagons for quick movement.
The railway ministry conveyed the decision to all its general managers across zones and this arrangement will be allowed till October 15, 2021. Cryogenic tanks are used for the storage of liquids such as oxygen, argon, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium.
Maharashtra has been battling to get adequate liquid medical oxygen to meet the demand due to the spike in
Covid cases. The demand is also high in neighbouring
Gujarat and other states are likely to see similar situations because of high numbers of infections.
The railway board has laid down the specifications about the payload and other aspects to operationalise the mechanism for quick transportation of the liquid medical oxygen. It said the railways won’t levy busy season charge and development charge for such consignments.
Two persons will be allowed to accompany the trucks and including the driver and they will need to carry second class tickets for the journey and the consigner will take necessary precautions.