How to reach the Campus?

How to reach: Mumbai

The city of Mumbai is well connected by a network of flights, trains, buses and ferries.

If you are interested in exploring the city, we suggest that you install the m-indicator app from your app store for travelling in and around Mumbai. The app has live timings for local trains, metro, monorail, city/state transport buses (BEST, TMT, NMMT), ferries, and more. It even contains an explore segment with popular tourist attractions, eateries, shopping areas and hotels.

The auto-rickshaw (called auto) fares in Mumbai are fixed. The auto driver is obliged to run the fare-meter throughout the ride. The app contains an auto fares chart, which you can use to cross check if the meter is functioning properly. 

After reaching IIT Bombay campus, it is not difficult to find the Aerospace Department. Here is the accurate GPS location. You can also ask for directions from anyone inside the campus as well if Google directions fail to work.

Note: You can only enter the institute through the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). There are three gates for public entry to campus, all located on the JVLR. Google directions sometimes shows other routes as well, but those routes are unavailable for public access.

Please enter the campus only through Gate Number 2 - The Main Gate.

Following is the summary of various modes of transport you can use to reach IIT Bombay;

1. Flights:

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA, Mumbai) is the world's busiest airport among those which operate only a single runway at a time (according to pre-COVID figures). Connectivity with most major cities of India and the world is automatically implied. There are two terminals - one solely for low cost domestic carriers, while the other is for international as well as a select few domestic flights.

a. Terminal 1 (T1) - Locally called as the Santacruz (pronounced Saantaacrooz) or Sahar (pronounced Sahaar) airport, this is the one for domestic low cost carriers. The entry/exit of this terminal is from the Santacruz area of Mumbai. Travel time to IIT Bombay campus ranges from 1 hour to 3 hours depending on the time of day and day of week. 7-10 am and 5-8 pm on weekdays is busiest.

If you want to travel by city bus (BEST), cross the Western Express Highway to the Domestic Airport Junction bus stop (https://maps.app.goo.gl/huzgxkjU8RhNajE16) and catch bus number 422 to Vikhroli Depot. Ask the conductor for "IIT Main Gate" as the destination bus stop. This would cost ₹15.

Note: This particular bus is NOT air conditioned.

b. Terminal 2 (T2) - Locally called as the international airport, the entry/exit of the terminal is from the Airport Road area of Mumbai. The local nomenclature is misleading, as domestic flights also do arrive and depart from this terminal. This one is closer to the campus and travel time ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the time of day and day of week. 7-10 am and 5-8 pm on weekdays is busiest.

If you want to travel by city bus (BEST), go to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport bus stop (https://maps.app.goo.gl/RCdFpSzmsG9XHngH9) and catch bus number A-382 to Anushakti Nagar or Deonar Depot. Ask the conductor for "IIT Main Gate" as the destination bus stop. This would cost ₹13.

Note: This bus is air conditioned and will be a comfortable experience.

For departures, please confirm your terminal as written on the ticket; cross check your terminal on the internet and call your airlines in case of any doubts. This is because the two terminals are quite far and travel times between the two can range between 20 minutes to an hour. Hence, reaching the wrong terminal might lead to you missing your flight.

2. Trains: 

The Mumbai suburban network has 7 major train stations split across three divisions. Please refer to this map for Indian Railways' division details.

All the stations can be reached from the campus and vice versa comfortably by booking a cab using Ola or Uber, the biggest shared taxi booking apps functional in India. You can download them using your app store. The fares for the cab rides are pre-decided and will show to you on the app before your ride starts. You can take help from this article. The same steps apply for Uber. You can also set up payment options ranging from Cash to GPay before your ride begins.

We recommend taking a cab to/from the campus to the stations if you have luggage with you. You can also take an auto if they are allowed (check below for details). Taking a bus might be a cheaper option for Thane or Borivali station if you do not have much luggage with you.

Caution: Buses from the railway stations to IIT campus may be crowded.

If you are familiar with the Mumbai suburban local train network, or want to explore, we have provided the nearest local stations and average station-to-station travel time for the train stations as well. The nearest local train station to IIT Bombay is Kanjurmarg on the central line. Only slow locals stop at Kanjurmarg. The campus is 1.5 km from the station.

Caution: Local trains will certainly be crowded.

If your train passes through the Central railway region, your train might arrive at/depart from:

a. Thane - (pronounced Thaanay) The neighboring district of Mumbai, Thane station is not as far from IIT Bombay as some of the other stations in Mumbai. Cabs are the fastest and most comfortable means for this station. Autos to/from the station are also available. You can even book an auto on Ola/Uber apps, or take a wild auto to/from the gate of the campus to/from the station.

Average road travel time: 30 minutes to 2 hours.

You can use the m-indicator app to find out which buses go to Thane station. You can take an auto to Teen Hath Naka and  bus number 492 or 496 from Teen Hath Naka, and then take an auto from there. This combination is much cheaper, but might take considerably more time than taking a direct cab/auto to the station.

Nearest local station: Thane station is a local train station as well, with a direct slow local to Kanjurmarg every 20 minutes on an average.

Average local train travel time: 15 minutes

b. Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) - Cabs/autos are the best option.

Average road travel time: 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Nearest local station: Kurla or Vidyavihar local station on the central line. Directly connected to Kanjurmarg.

Average local train travel time: 13 minutes

Nearest metro station: Ghatkopar

c. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) - The grandest station in Mumbai, it is a bit far from the campus. Autos and direct buses are not available for this station. Taking a cab is the best option. The locals also call this station as CST or VT (Victoria Terminus).

Average road travel time: 1 hour to 3 hours

Nearest local station: CSMT itself. Directly connected to Kanjurmarg.

Average local train travel time: 44 minutes

Most trains running from CSMT also stop at Thane station. If so, then you can board the train at Thane rather than going all the way to CSMT. Please check the train route before making any decisions.

If your train passes through the Western railway region, your train might arrive at/depart from:

Using local trains is not recommended for Western line travel from IIT Bombay.

d. Borivali - (pronounced Borivalee) Autos and cabs are available. 

You can take bus numbers 524 or 478 of BEST, AC 123 or AC 125 of NMMT to reach Borivali station directly from IIT Bombay campus gates. Please use m-indicator for more information.

Average bus travel time: 2 hours to 3 hours

Average cab/auto travel time: 1 hour to 3 hours

e. Bandra - (pronounced Baandraa, Ban-druh or Vaandre) Autos and cabs are available. Direct buses take a lot of time, and hence are not recommended.

Average travel time: 45 minutes to 3 hours

f. Mumbai Central - Also called as Bombay Central. Autos and direct buses are not available. Only cabs.

Average travel time: 1 hour to 3 hours

Most trains running from Mumbai Central also stop at Borivali. If so, then you can board the train at Thane rather than going all the way to Mumbai Central. Please check the train route before making any decisions.

If your train passes through the Konkan railway region, your train might arrive at/depart from:

g. Panvel - Panvel is a city in Navi Mumbai's Raigad district. It is around 42 km from the campus in terms of distance, but the roads have more traffic than the roads inside the city.

Average travel time: 1.5 hours to 4 hours

There are very few trains which end/start at Panvel. Most of them go till Thane/CST. But just in case.

3. Buses:

Mumbai is also well connected by road with other cities of India. Their are multiple bus stations for outgoing buses. There are two options available:

a. State transport (ST) buses - The nearest most accessible bus depot is the Thane bus depot. You can take an auto or cab to Thane bus depot. It is also accessible from Thane station. It connects Thane to major cities of Maharashtra.

b. Private buses - There are many private bus services running to/from Mumbai to other major cities of India. In Mumbai, they pick-up and drop people at various locations on the Eastern or Western Express Highway.

If your bus picks-up/drops at Powai, then that is awesome. You can directly access the bus from the IIT Bombay campus gates.

If not, then if the bus is following the Eastern Express Highway, you can board/alight from the bus at the Vikhroli bus stop, or somewhere (Teen Hath Naka most probably) in Thane. 

If the bus follows the Western Express Highway route, any available stop in Andheri will be the nearest accessible bus stop.

The fastest way of reaching the bus stop is by auto/cab.

Please stay in contact with the bus driver/conductor to get real time updates so that you do not miss your bus.

4. Other means:

There are private single/shared cab services from nearby towns of Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik etc to Mumbai. Apart from that you can use your personal vehicle as well. This is the location of Aerospace Department, IIT Bombay. You can use Google Map Navigation for reaching the campus.

5. Tourism:

Mumbai has an excellent network of local trains, metro, monorail, autos, taxis, cabs, and buses. A combination of these can be used to reach from anywhere to anywhere. You can explore the m-indicator app for the same.