Hospital on Wheels-Lifeline Express

Hospital on Wheels-Lifeline Express

Projects Lifeline Express

It was a simple dream. All it wanted was that people should not, through neglect or ignorance, become disabled or crippled, and thus robbed of health, productivity and joy, and that disabled persons especially in rural India should have access to medical services wherever they be.

On 16th of July, 1991, this dream came true, when Impact India’s Lifeline Express, the world’s first hospital on a train, was launched.

The internationally acclaimed Lifeline Express has become a model for transfer of appropriate technology to other countries to set up similar projects in China, Central Africa and river boat hospitals in Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Maharashtra: Lifeline Express inaugurated at CSMT, Mumbai

The Lifeline Express, also known as “Hospital on Wheels”, was today inaugurated at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus by the Central Railway (CR) for its latest project, which involves providing medical treatment to poor patients.

A statement by CR said that the train will now move to Sahibganj in Jharkhand from Mumbai for its next project. The Indian Railways, in partnership with Impact India Foundation, had launched the Lifeline Express – the worlds first hospital on wheels – on July 16, 1991 from CSMT to provide free of cost medical care to the poor living in remote corners of the country. The seven coaches of the Lifeline Express have advanced operation theatres, a pathology lab, a mammography unit, a gynaecology examination room, a dental unit, a pharmacy, consultation cubicles and X-Ray unit, among others. Till now, The Lifeline Express has travelled across 19 states, covering 201 rural locations in 138 districts providing medical treatment to 12.32 lakh patients, including 1.46 lakh cases of surgery and nearly 2,00,000 medical professionals from around the world have rendered their services to the train.