High-end coaches, manufactured with German technology, en sured there were no casualties on Konkan Railway (KR), when 10 compartments of the Kurla-Ernakulam Duronto Express derailed in a tunnel on Sunday. The commissioner of railway safety had, in October 2014, warned KR to improve safety standards after the derailment of a goods train. KR officials took up the task and later said they fixed all flaws, but Sunday's mishap is the second major derailment on KR this year.Hundreds of passengers on Sunday escaped when, at 6:24 am, the Duronto derailed in Sarzora-2 tunnel, near Balli station, south of Madgaon. Railway officials said there were no casualties though the train was travelling at 100 kmph as the German-designed coaches did not capsize due to their unique coupling method, which holds all coaches tight during such instances. “The savior of the day was the driver, who heard the noise and halted the train within 400 metres,“ an official said.This is the second major derailment on KR in 2015, after three coaches of Mangala Express derailed at Pen on March 1. In fact, following investigations into the derailment of a goods train near Chiplun in October 2014, Commissioner of Railway Safety Chetan Bakshi said that “passenger trains on Konkan Railway were a danger to public“. He drew up a detailed programme that capped the speed of trains to 75 kmph, after finding flaws in the manner the Ultrasound Flaw Detection (USFD) was monitored. USFD machines x-ray rails and reveal flaws in joints, wear and tear, etc. He said KR's USFD operator did not have knowledge of the manual, and that officials signed USDF test reports without verification.Following this, KR officials said they worked hard to fix all problems. Giving details, an official said that USFD testing was taken seriously and the entire route was tested by trained personnel who replaced all defective rails welds. Round-the-clock patrolling was done and charts detailing movement, direction and timings of patrollers were countersigned by station masters, cabin men, or gatemen. Each patrolman covered a 2 km stretch, inspecting the rail for fractures, gaps, etc. Precautions were also taken in tunnels and bridges. A high-level committee examined the implementation.In December 2014, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu also ordered a safety audit of the entire 760 km route. This was done and after a satisfactory inspection, the speed restriction of 75 kmph was lifted by end 2014. Bakshi told Mirror on Sunday that KR had fulfilled all conditions.Konkan Railway chairman and managing director Bhanu Pratap Tayal said that the commissioner's remarks had been taken seriously. “We followed all guidelines and later conducted a safety audit, which showed there were no issues on KR,“ Tayal told Mirror. “The cause of the derailment is under investigation,“ he added.A KR official said restoration of the line was top priority. “A team of 250 labourers and officials are busy restoring the line,“ he said.