From seamless travel to smarter services, mega-projects set to redefine urban living
People started using the Aqua Line in October 2024. Pic/Ashish Raje
Ranjeet Jadhav, Dipti Singh, Sameer Surve and Rajendra B. Aklekar
The city of Mumbai is set to undergo a remarkable transformation in 2025 with a host of urban infrastructure developments across transportation, education, civic amenities, and health services. From cutting-edge road projects like the elevated Vakola connector and the completion of the Samruddhi Highway’s final stretch to significant milestones in Metro rail connectivity with the Aqua Line Phase 2 and Red Line extensions, the city’s transport network will witness unparalleled upgrades.
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Aqua Line Phase 2
Phase 2 of Mumbai’s first underground Metro line, running from BKC to Acharya Atre Chowk in Worli, is expected to open in May 2025. The first phase of the Aqua Line, spanning 12.69 km from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5, 2024, with commercial operations beginning on October 7, 2024.
Key Phase 1 Highlights
>> First day of operations: 20,482 passengers between 6.30 am and 9 pm.
>> Highest single-day ridership: 27,108 passengers on the first Sunday after opening.
>> First-month ridership: Over 600,000 passengers, with an average daily ridership of around 20,000.
Multi-Modal Integration (MMI)
>> Churchgate Metro Station: Direct connection to Churchgate Railway Station via ground-level access for easy transfers.
>> CSMT Metro Station: A subway connects the Metro station to the existing CSMT subway, facilitating transfers to both suburban and intercity trains.
>> Jagannath Shankar Sheth Metro Station: Metro entry/exit points are integrated with the Mumbai Central Railway Station and the State Transport (ST) bus stand.
>> Mahalaxmi Metro Station: Ground-level access connects the Metro station with Mahalaxmi Railway Station. A foot-over bridge links the Metro station to the monorail station.
Phase 2 Stations
1. Dharavi
2. Shitaladevi Mandir
3. Dadar Metro
4. Siddhivinayak
5. Worli
6. Acharya Atre Chowk
7. Science Centre
8. Mahalaxmi Metro
9. Jagannath Shankar Sheth Metro
10. Grant Road Metro
11. Girgaon
12. Kalbadevi
13. CSMT Metro
14. Hutatma Chowk
15. Churchgate Metro
16. Vidhan Bhavan
17. Cuffe Parade
Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR)
Elevated Vakola connector
Motorists travelling via the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) towards Andheri on the Western Express Highway will no longer have to stop at the Vakola signal, as the elevated connector—India’s first sharp-curvature span with an orthotropic steel deck supported by stayed cables—is nearing completion. Currently, vehicles heading from the SCLR to the Vakola junction face traffic congestion due to the signal and ongoing construction of the connector.
Hindu Hurudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg
Samruddhi Highway’s last stretch
The 76-km-long final stretch of the highway connecting Igatpuri to Amane, initiallly planned to open by end of 2024, is expected to open in 2025. The opening was delayed due to prolonged construction of the road connecting Mumbai-Nashik Highway with the Samruddhi Highway near Amane interchange. Commuters travelling between Mumbai and Nagpur must use old Mumbai-Nashik Highway up to Igatpuri before joining the Samruddhi Highway.
Metro Line 2A. File pic/Satej Shinde
Mumbai Metro
Red Line 9/2B
Work on Red Line 9 between Dahisar and Kashimira is nearing completion. If the timeline is maintained, the line could be ready for commissioning, enabling trains to reach Kashimira directly. A small stretch of Line 2B, from Mandale to Diamond Garden in Chembur, is also nearing completion and is tentatively expected to open in 2025, pending train trials and approvals from the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
Amrit Bharat Stations and Foot Over Bridges
Basic upgrade works at smaller halt stations, such as Kanjurmarg, will be completed in 2025. Additional projects include ongoing work on foot over bridges at various stations on both the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR).
Health
The BMC will implement a Hospital Management System in all its hospitals. This system will assign a unique number to each patient, which will serve as their health identity. The system will provide civic doctors with access to patients’ medical history. Additionally, hospitals will transition to paperless operations under this initiative.
Walkway at Malabar Hill. Pic/Shadab Khan
Nature walk
The city’s first elevated nature trail walkway at Malabar Hill will open to the public in January 2025. The walkway is 470 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, featuring an elevated wooden deck, railings, and vertical supports.
Gokhale Bridge. File pic/Ashish Raje
Bridges
The Gokhale bridge in Andheri will be completed, and the Vikhroli East-West connector will open for vehicular traffic.
Coastal Road at Haji Ali. File pic/Ashish Raje
Coastal Road
All phases of the Worli-to-Nariman Point Coastal Road will be completed by January 2025. Currently, only one portion of the girder remains to be connected to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
Changes in Marathi assessment system
Starting from the academic year 2025-26, the Marathi language will no longer be assessed as a graded subject in non-state-board schools, including those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, and others. Instead, evaluation for this compulsory subject will transition to a marks-based system. The Maharashtra school education department recently issued a directive clarifying that the earlier grading system for Marathi was a temporary, post-pandemic measure introduced to address challenges caused by school closures during lockdowns. Going forward, all schools will evaluate students in Marathi using marks rather than grades, as mandated by the directive.
This move aligns with the provisions of the Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Act, enacted in 2020, which made Marathi a compulsory subject in all schools across the state, regardless of board affiliation. While the state education department had announced in April 2023 that Marathi would be assessed through grades in non-state-board schools, this system will now be replaced with marks-based evaluation starting from the 2025-26 academic year.
More jobs-oriented courses in the offing
In June 2023, the Maharashtra government announced plans to convert popular bifocal courses in Mumbai into employment-oriented specialised courses aligned with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), starting from the academic year 2024-25. However, a recent government resolution has postponed the rollout to the academic year 2025-26.
The decision to defer implementation aims to facilitate a smoother transition and ensure that junior colleges are adequately prepared for the introduction of these NSQF-aligned vocational courses. The state had introduced bifocal vocational courses to equip youth with professional training, promote employment and self-employment, and curb the increasing preference for collegiate education. These courses currently account for 30 per cent of vocational subjects and span technical, commerce, agriculture, and fisheries disciplines. However, in June 2023, the government resolved to align all bifocal courses with the NSQF.
Under the revised timeline, institutions planning to start or continue vocational courses must implement the NSQF-upgraded curriculum starting from the academic year 2025-26. “This extension allows institutions to adapt to the new framework and ensures a streamlined launch of the revamped vocational programs,” said a senior official from the state education department.
20,000
Average daily ridership on Aqua Line
12.69 km
Length of Aqua Line from Aarey to BKC
October 7
Day operations of Aqua Line began
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