New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS): Transportation of milk through the 'Doodh Duronto' special trains from Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh to the national capital has crossed the 10 crore litre-mark.

Right from the date of introduction on March 26, 2020, these special trains were operated by South Central Railway on an uninterrupted basis and till date, 2,502 milk tankers have been transported through 443 trips, a release from the Railway Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Transportation of milk by rail from Renigunta to New Delhi has been very important and crucial to meet the essential needs of the nation. Prior to Covid-19, milk tankers were being attached to weekly superfast trains to cater to the milk needs of the people in New Delhi and its surrounding regions. When the lockdown was implemented in the country, to supplement the cause, South Central Railway (SCR) zone started this unique concept," the release said.

SCR operated 'Doodh Duronto' special trains by exclusively attaching milk tankers. The SCR has been operating these trains on par with mail express trains by covering the distance of 2,300 km from Renigunta to Hazarat Nizamuddin railway station in New Delhi within a reasonable time of 30 hours.

The specials are run normally with six milk tankers, each having a capacity of 40,000 litres, totalling to 2.40 lakh litres of milk per train.

"So far, 2,502 milk tankers have been operated in 443 trips of these special trains, transporting more than 10 crore liters of milk," the release said.

The officials of Guntakal Division are in constant touch with the freight customers who are offering the loading of milk and have been attending to their requirements so that there is no hindrance in the operation of the trains.

Since the introduction of this initiative, these trains have been operated continuously during peak Covid times.