Inside Lifeline Express, hospital on wheels in India

A train with doctors onboard has become lifeline for people living in remote parts of India and need medical assistance.

The seven-coach train, aptly called Lifeline Express and launched by a non-profit group in 1991, has crisscrossed India for 27 years.

It has so far treated about 1.2 million people across India, that too, for free.

The sky-blue train is decorated with mahogany flower garlands and could be mistaken for a new passenger train. But the medical facilities onboard would rival many hospitals.

It employs 20 permanent paramedic staff, with most doctors volunteering from nearby medical colleges or hospitals.

Typically, it spends a month in remote area, performing surgery ranging from cataracts and cancer to cleft palates and orthopaedics.

Patients can be seen registering to be screened for cataract surgery by doctors from the Lifeline Express at a hospital in Jalore, Rajasthan.

The aim of this initiative is not to compete with India's public health system, but support it. The train gives volunteer doctors and medical students an opportunity to hone their skills while doing satisfying community work.

The train also has a staff resting area with enough facilities. A television screen is seen in the staff resting area on the Lifeline Express.

The staff also gets freshly-cooked meals so that they can focus on their duties.

According to the non-profit organisation, a second train will be launched in the next six months to cover the north and northeast.