The accident occurred at 10.30pm, when the train, bound for Mumbai from Karwar derailed suddenly as it travelled through a ravine outside the town.
The train was a Central Railway's Holiday Special, and had numerous families aboard at the time of the crash.
The track had been covered by several large boulders earlier in the day from a landslide down the ravine's side, which had not been noticed due to the remote location.
When the train struck the boulders, the engine and first three carriages were thrown in the air by the force of the derailment, and crumpled upon impact.
There was controversy about the accident though, because the company which runs the service, the Konkan Railway Corporation, has just developed a new type of Anti Collision Device which would have prevented the crash.