User blog comment:Legionwrex/How did Saren reach the Citadel?/@comment-1440333-20130507094740/@comment-2250460-20130507185017

The London Beam works more like a teleporter than the Conduit does.

It doesn't really matter that they should have been killed in the Mako, the whole premise of Mass Relays are that the work because X effects undiscovered law of physics Y.

However even with Mass Effects explanation for Mass Relays, there is still no reason Saren was able to survive on foot.