Calling Wednesday's derailment of the Mangalore-Mumbai Matsyagandha Express as an example of "nature humbling man," Konkan Railway Corporation Managing Director B Rajaram said all cuttings up to 5 metre in height will now be covered with high-strength steel nets to prevent boulders from falling on the tracks.
He said after the last year's disaster when 53 people were killed in an accident on the same route after a boulder struck a train, the KRC had covered all cuttings above 10 metre in height with steel nets.
"After last year's accident we had taken special sanction from the ministry to do a complete engineering solution to cover cuttings. Everybody agreed it will be protective. An area of 300,000 sq km was covered," Rajaram told reporters at the accident site.
Rajaram said the "chances of boulders falling from a less than 5-metre high cutting and coming onto the tracks is low."
Stating that it was very difficult for the driver to control the train once it was "disturbed," Rajaram said it looked like the locomotive was struck by a boulder and then fell off the bridge.
He declined to go further into the accident saying an inquiry has been ordered.
Calling the route a "very difficult stretch", Rajaram said that after last year's disaster, his men had worked hard to prevent repeat of such incidents but "today's accident made us look small."
Asked when the track will be reopened for operation, he said two cranes were coming to clear the site and that they
planned to reopen it by 0500 IST Thursday.