K. Vijayalakshmi holds the position of chief, transport and communications, at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). She has over 30 years of experience in the planning and implementation of transportation infrastructure projects in the Mumbai metropolitan region. In her current role, she is involved in the execution of an integrated ticketing system in the metropolitan region covering suburban railways, metro, monorail, buses, etc. She is also spearheading the preparation of transit-oriented development plans, non-motorised transport plans, ropeway plans and bus-lane schemes for capacity building in urban transport. Vijayalakshmi is also on the board of directors of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Limited and is part of its risk management committee.
Her expertise lies in the implementation of urban transport projects such as metro rail and monorail projects that are executed on a public-private partnership (PPP) and turnkey basis. In addition, she is involved in the preparation of comprehensive transportation plans, station area traffic improvement schemes, and multimodal integration concept plans for both metro and monorail stations.
During her career, Vijayalakshmi has been involved in several noteworthy projects, of which two assignments have been particularly memorable for her. These are the first Mumbai metro project that was implemented on a PPP basis along the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor and the second is the monorail project implemented on an engineering, procurement and construction basis along the Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk-Wadala-Chembur corridor in Mumbai.
Vijayalakshmi, the first lady transportation engineer in India, takes challenges as opportunities. She believes in teamwork, and considers positive thinking and proactiveness as her key strengths. A graduate in civil engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana, she also holds a postgraduate degree in transportation engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. She is a peace-loving person and attempts to strike the right balance between her professional and personal life. Her husband is a director at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Berhampur. The couple has two sons; the elder is a senior scientist while the younger one is a sports management professional. In her free time, Vijayalakshmi loves to be around family and friends and also likes listening to music.