Over 30 BEST bus routes hit, nine major roads closed for Mumbai’s Navy Marathon today

Mumbai’s Navy Marathon, organised annually in coordination with the Navy, draws thousands of participants across categories, including the full marathon, half-marathon, and 10K run.

By: Express News Service

Mumbai | November 23, 2025 01:26 PM IST

3 min read

According to BEST’s operational plan, four bus routes—132, 108, 123, and 155—are fully suspended from 5 am onwards. (File)

Mumbai’s Navy Marathon on Sunday triggered a large-scale overhaul of traffic and public transport in South Mumbai, with more than 30 BEST bus routes either cancelled, curtailed, or diverted, and at least nine major roads fully closed through the morning. The extensive restrictions were enforced to secure the marathon route and manage crowd movement, affecting thousands of commuters.

“The Navy Marathon necessitated large-scale rerouting across South Mumbai, and we understand this impacts thousands of our daily passengers. Our foremost priority is to ensure the safety of participants and the smooth conduct of the event while maintaining essential connectivity. We request commuters to cooperate with the temporary changes and follow our official channels, along with Mumbai Police updates, for real-time information,” said a BEST official.

According to BEST’s operational plan, four bus routes—132, 108, 123, and 155—are fully suspended from 5 am onwards. These routes, which usually serve high-demand stretches like Bhulabhai Desai Road, and Peddar Road, were taken off service due to complete road closures along the race corridor.

Four more routes, including 77, 154, and 121, were curtailed, with buses short-terminating at points such as Haji Ali, Churchgate, and ST Office instead of completing their full journeys. Officials said the curtailments were necessary as several mid-route junctions were blocked or converted into “no cross” zones for runners.

The largest operational impact came from rerouting, with over 25 bus routes diverted through alternative corridors. Affected routes included 78, 63, 28, 86, 9, 14, 21, 51, 138, C10, 25, 45, 6, 83, 85, 87, 91, and others. These buses were redirected via roads such as the Coastal Road, Mukesh Chowk, Mahapalika Road, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, and Mohammad Ali Road to bypass the marathon barricades.

Simultaneously, nine major roads were closed, either partially or fully, from 5 am or 6 am. These included Bhulabhai Desai Road, Peddar Road, NSCI, M G Road, Maharshi Karve Road/Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil Road, two stretches of M K Road, Abdul Gaffar Road, and Veer Nariman Road. The traffic police said the closures would remain in effect until the marathon concluded and clearance operations were completed.
Depots, including Backbay, Colaba, Worli, and CND, coordinated operations and issued public advisories. Commuters were warned of delays and urged to use alternative routes or plan travel after services normalised.

The marathon, organised annually in coordination with the Navy, draws thousands of participants across categories, including the full marathon, half-marathon, and 10K run. The event traditionally covers major South Mumbai corridors, requiring early-morning road closures, barricading, and diversion of public transport to create a safe running space. This year’s edition followed a similar southbound loop, prompting widespread movement restrictions across key arterial roads.

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