New Delhi,  The Oxygen Express trains being run by the Indian Railways have delivered nearly 150 tonnes of the life-saving gas in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Railways said on Saturday.

In the wake of severe shortage of oxygen for Covid-19 patients in many parts of the country, the Indian Railways has launched the Oxygen Express initiative to transport Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) across the nation.

The Ministry of Railways said in a statement, "Oxygen Express trains with LMO tankers have arrived at Nashik and Lucknow. Few containers were also unloaded at Nagpur and Varanasi enroute to supply LMO in these regions. Also, a third Oxygen Express has started its journey from Lucknow this morning."

According to the ministry, states like Andhra Pradesh and Delhi are in consultation with the Railways to run more such trains.

Under this initiative, empty tankers are being loaded with LMO from Visakhapatnam, Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Bokaro.

"To fulfil the requirements of medical oxygen in Uttar Pradesh, a green corridor was created for the movement of the train between Lucknow and Varanasi. The distance of 270 km was covered in four hours and 20 minutes with an average speed of 62.35 kmph," the ministry said.

It pointed out that a total of 10 containers having nearly 150 tonnes of oxygen have been transported so far.

"Indian Railways transported essential commodities and kept the supply chain intact even during the lockdown last year and it continues to serve the nation in times of emergencies," the ministry said.