If there is one thing the railways are almost always brainstorming on, it is how to run the maximum number of local train services in a day. Turns out the only practical solution in the available infrastructure is apparently by introducing a new signalling system. The system, the railways says, can cut the time between two trains arriving at a station by half.

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has thus undertaken the Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) project as a part of Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3. Also known as cab signalling, it involves setting up a communications system inside the driver's cabin. The MRVC has begun inviting consultants to implement the system. The idea is to get the system up and running in the next three years.