The Nigeria Abuja urban railway at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. [Photo/people.cn]

The initial phase of the Nigeria Abuja urban railway, West Africa's first light railway system opened on July 12 with support from UniTTEC Co Ltd, a Hangzhou-based supplier of integrated solutions for global rail.

Built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the 45-kilometre rail has two lines and 12 stations with connections to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

UniTTEC provided assistance in the creation of its signaling control system, which acts as the "brain" of the railway.

"Its main function is to ensure train operation safety," said Wang Guoping, vice president of the company, adding that the signaling system has full intellectual property rights and obtained double SIL4 safety certifications for generic products and applications.

Over the past two years, the eight-member team has adapted current models to suit the country's infrastructure and overcome a range of technical obstacles.

Signal control generally requires a stable communication infrastructure with full network coverage, which presented some challenges for the team as this was not the case in Nigeria.

We had to redevelop the circle line to solve the problem, said Ling Zhujun, chief engineer of the project.

This is not the first time that the company has backed African railway projects. In 2016, UniTTEC provided a computer-based interlocking system for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, an ambitious cross-border railway in East Africa linking the capital of Ethiopia with the Port of Djibouti.

Many of UniTTEC's projects abroad are inspired by the Belt and Road Initiative. Although its focus has mainly been Africa, the company is now looking for further global opportunities to showcase its capabilities and develop transport systems in new areas.

Staff of UniTTEC Co Ltd work on-site with the signaling control system of the Nigeria Abuja urban railway in Abuja. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]