Mumbai, July 11 : On the rainy evening of July 11, 2006, as millions of commuters hurried to their homes by the Western Railway (WR) suburban trains, they were stopped dead in their tracks at the high-peak hour, at around 18:24 hours (6.24 pm).

For the next 11 minutes, seven of the chock-a-block local trains were surgically targeted with ‘pressure cooker bombs’ innocuously placed in the first class gents compartments, which the harried crowds ignored.

Snuffing out 209 innocents, the terror attack became the second worst extremist disaster in Mumbai, preceded by the March 12, 1993 serials bomb blasts (257 killed) and followed by the November 26-29, 2008 terror strikes (166+9 terrorists killed).

When the commuters had settled down for the long commute to their waiting families, the ‘train bombs’ suddenly exploded with devastating results on several stations between Matunga (south Mumbai) and Bhayander (Thane) stations.

This led to massive chaos among the terrified commuters, the lights went off in many coaches, and left the WR authorities rattled plus shook awake the central and state administrations.

The multiple blasts in the trains, either running or halted at stations on their journeys, brought the usually efficient WR system to a grinding halt, but the pre-smartphone era mobiles and the still-reliable landlines were jammed, confusion reigned among the people and the officialdom.

As the suburban trains had stopped running and hordes of security personnel launched their primary investigations, lakhs of commuters trooped onto the road, grabbing any available mode of transport, but the main thoroughfares, highways, arterial roads and even local streets witnessed unprecedented traffic snarls.

Eyewitnesses remember that horrifying evening when the much-cursed and congested suburban trains earned silent prayers and blessings for reaching the commuters home quickly, safely and efficiently, barring of course the odd aberration…like July 11, 2006.

Hungry, thirsty, confused and stranded for hours in the BEST buses, autorickshaws, taxis, cars, vans, and two-wheelers, the ordinary Mumbaikars opened their hearts and rushed to their aid -- akin to the great floods of July 26, 2005, which claimed 1,094 lives.

In a show of solidarity in the face of the tragedy, thousands of Mumbaikars, ranging from slums to skyscrapers, poured out to offer umbrellas, raincoats, plastic sheets, tea-coffee-biscuits-snacks-light meals, complimentary to the bewildered commuters trudging home.