In a bid to maintain the supply of the essential items across the country, Indian Railways on Saturday dispatched "Doodh Duronto Special" with 2.4 lakh litre of milk from Andhra Pradesh to Delhi.
A senior railway ministry official said that a special Doodh Duronto has been dispatched from Reningunta in Andhra Pradesh to Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi along with two parcel vans.
He said the special Doodh Duronto train which was dispatched at 8 am on Saturday from Andhra Pradesh will reach Delhi within 36 hours as it is being run at par with the express train with an average speed of 110 kmph without any enroute detention.
Utmost precaution was taken while loading the train, the official said.
He said in the Special Doodh Duronto, 2.4 lakh liters of milk, 23 tonnes of mangoes and 23 tonnes of muskmelons have also transported.
24x7 Freight Transportation: Railways dispatched a "Doodh Duronto Special" along with 2 Parcel Vans from Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh to Nizamuddin in Delhi transporting:
— Piyush Goyal Office (@PiyushGoyalOffc) April 4, 2020
2.4 lakh litres of Milk
23 tonnes of Mangoes
23 tonnes of Muskmelons pic.twitter.com/dehPcJt2RH
Services of passenger, mail and express tains was suspended on March 24 till April 14 in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak but the railways continued with its freight and special parcel train services to ensure the supply of the essential items across the country.
The Indian Railways is offering trains for the movement of essential commodities and other goods, and has asked local industries, e-commerce companies, interested groups, organisations, individuals and prospective loaders to contact railway officials at the zonal level in case they want to move goods.
“Any commodity can be booked in any quantity 'from' or 'to' any of these stations. All efforts are made to move the commodities in an efficient manner for timely delivery of stock,” the ministry had said earlier this week.
By April 2, the Indian Railways has transported over four lakh wagons of the essential items across the country.