<b>Mumbai blasts: Commissioner appeals for calm</b>

 Mr Roy said additional public buses would be deployed to ferry commuters who had to abandon trains. Trains on the Western and Harbour lines were stopped immediately forcing commuters to leave the railway stations.

The Police Commissioner denied there was any attempt to block or jam phone lines. He said excessive load on the phone system must have caused the jamming. Anxious citizens hit the phones trying to reach their near and dear ones, many of whom were travelling in the trains.

Mumbai's local trains are the very lifeline of the city. Some 5.5 million passengers travel in them every day, in a north-south direction. The blasts took place between 6 and 6.30 pm, peak rush hour for the city when most citizens are headed north towards their homes.

 The blasts took place near Matunga, Khar, Bandra, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar, Borivali and Mira Road Stations on the Western Railway. The first blast is believed to have taken place around 6.25 pm near Khar station in north Mumbai.

 Western Railway Helpline Number: 22005388
Western Railway enquiry: 131, 3061763

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