Chennai,  Tamil Nadu received 80 MT of oxygen on Friday by the Oxygen Express train which arrived from Durgapur in West Bengal.

State Health Minister Ma Subramanian, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan received the shipment at the Tondiarpet railway yard at around 2 a.m.

"We will be scouting more oxygen from wherever possible, we will distribute the oxygen arrived today to various districts," Subramanian told IANS.

The Minister also said that the hospitals have been instructed to have optimal use of oxygen and that the government will get more in the days to come.

Subramanian said: " The lockdown will be more intensified from Friday onwards. People are not taking this seriously and are roaming around without taking any precautions. The government has been forced to intensify the lockdown."

The Oxygen Express train which reached the Tondiarpet yard, comprises flat-type wagons which are loaded with cryogenic tankers.

Each cryogenic tank has the capacity to carry 13 MT of Liquid Medical Oxygen.

Cryogenic tankers mounted trucks are filled with oxygen and transported through RORO (Roll on Roll Off) service.

This will facilitate door to door delivery of oxygen at the hospitals as required by the state without having to unload it from the railway wagon and refill them again into the road vehicle and this helps to cut down the transit time.