history of Cat City's MRT

An interactive version of this page is available at the Museum of Rail, accessible from the station of the same name.

Standard V1

The first iteration of the CCR network was Standard V1, which was very basic. It was introduced on the 13th of June 2023, along with the very first building in Cat City (then a large patch of grass), the old Central station. The old Central station was demolished in late 2024/early 2025 to allow some distance between stations. It sat where the Starbank Road entrance now is.

The rails exclusively supported Minecarts and were powered by placing redstone blocks next to the rail. You had to put down your own cart (which were provided for free at select stations) and correctly time when to alight at a station. The whole track had glowstone lighting overhead to assist with this. There was only a single rail for an entire line.

Standard V1 was fully discontinued in January 2025 in favour of Standard V2. It was in service for roughly a year and a half. You may view a small section of real V1 track that actually had carts run on it at the Catford Bridge Cat Cafe (which itself used to be a station before its conversion).

Below (top left -> top right -> bottom left -> bottom right) are the Coast (Red) station (nowadays an empty section on the River Line), the Central Approach station (nowadays the Catford Bridge Cat Cafe), the exterior of the Central station (nowadays the Starbank Road entrance), and an internal shot of the Central station. These are all taken from a snapshot dated the 23rd of February 2024.

Standard V2

Standard V2 replaced Standard V1 in mid-January 2025, which also brought the new Starbank Road and resulted in the demolishing of the old Central station.

There were now two tracks for each direction, with circular turning points at termini (previously the line just ended abruptly), so a line formed a loop. The network was given a facelift, with quartz walls and sea lantern lighting.

Standard V2 was replaced in May 2025 with Standard V3. It was in service for 5 months. No V2 stations exist anymore, so a photo of Meowston Pond just before it was upgraded to V3 and then demolished is below. The unique glass roof you see here did not survive the V3 upgrade.

Standard V3

Standard V3 replaced Standard V2 in May 2025 (with construction throughout the month).

Standard V3 was a colossal upgrade to the previous system. It features full train models, larger stations, passenger information display systems, full service automation, signalling, platform doors with maps, and depots.

Upgrading the network involved rebuilding and lengthening every station in order for the trains to fit. The rails, including anything immediately underneath them, needed to be moved downwards.

Standard V3 has been phased out in favour of Standard V4 on the Central Line and V5 on the River Line.

The Catford Bridge station, before it was enlarged and then eventually removed from service (it is now the Catford Bridge Cat Cafe), is pictured below.

Standard V4 (Central Line)

Standard V4 replaced Standard V3 on the Central Line in June 2025. It is the last upgrade for the Central Line in its current form. The River Line is skipping this and going straight to V5.

Standard V4 is another large overhaul to make the metro system truer to real life. Ladders have been replaced with lifts, the SP1900 trains have been replaced with modern 2-car London Underground S8 trains, the PIDS have been replaced with full colour modern displays with a clock and weather information, and signage has been updated.

Below are images of Catford Square following its upgrade and of the S8 trains we are now using.

Standard V5 (River Line)

Standard V5 was introduced over the second half of 2025. It builds on the last two to finally bridge the gap between real-life railways and Cat City's Metro.

All stations have been constructed with the platforms now becoming an island, separating the tracks. This immediately makes the railway logistically and aesthetically better than every previous version.

Fire alarms have been fitted, alongside escalators and departure time indicators on top of the existing features from V4. Each station includes its own Ticket Office, and there's greenery on the platforms for Green Party enthusiasts.

The islands are very long to have capacity for 4 car London Underground S8 trains.

Standard V6 (Star Line) and rebranding

The Star Line will be introduced in Q1 2026 with Standard V6 to replace the antiquated Central Line. This is because of several problems with the original Central Line.

These problems include: its proximity to the surface, the fact that a restaurant is now next to the line, that we cannot expand the line due to space constraints, that the line forces trains to make sharp turns because of the layout, that hills surrounding the line have had to be extended so platforms don't poke out, and that the Fisher Street depot is absurdly one block underneath the surface. The stations are also more generally not up to our expectations.

The Central Line was the oldest part of Cat City so it is sad to move on, but we are looking towards a brighter future for the City. Cat City Metro has been renamed to simply the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit system) to better reflect our actual services following the Star Line's introduction.

Standard V6 will be an entirely new elevated railway system. The line will be elegant and beautiful, and stations will look stunning. All aspects will be well thought out to future-proof the line for years to come. It's time to move forward. It's time to set a new Standard.