The $51-million upgrade of the telecoms and signalling system along Zambia’s Livingstone–Chingola railway line was expected to be completed in 2016, improving safety, efficiency and throughput, information and communications technology company Huawei Railway Solutions business development global director Norman Frisch told Engineering News Online.

Huawei, and rail industry company Bombardier Transportation, were undertaking the upgrade of the system along this 980 km railway line, which comprised 42 stations.

The technology and equipment being supplied by Huawei and Bombardier complied with the globally recognised European Rail Train Management System (ERTMS) standard, the Global System for Mobile Communication – Railway (GSM-R) and European Train Control System standards.

Frisch noted that implementing an ERTMS increased the safety and efficiency of the railway line, while also improving throughput by allowing rail operators to reduce the amount of space between trains and, therefore, run more trains on the same track.

Implementing this standard also gave railway operators peace of mind, as they knew that the equipment being installed had delivered reliable communications for railway operators across the world.

“[As ERTMS] is a global standard developed to enable interoperability, if neighbouring countries to Zambia implemented the same standards, trains would be able to move more easily between the different countries, which would help regional integration,” Bombardier Rail Control Solutions head of sales and business development, Lucien Peters added.

The Zambian system would be deployed in three phases, or lots, Peters told Engineering News Online.

The first lot stretched from Livingstone to Kasawasa, the second from Kabwe to Kaniki and the third from Kitwe to Chingola. 

He noted that, aside from Zambia, South Africa had also already committed to implementing GSM-R.

“We think that the market is reaching the point where an integrated railway system is required in sub-Shaharan Africa to facilitate more efficient trade [such as is used in Europe],” he said, stating that it was important that African countries communicated with each other and employed a set standard across the continent.

In March last year Huawei  was awarded a contract by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) to deploy GSM-R for the country’s commuter railways.

In terms of this agreement, Huawei’s GSM-R system would be installed along PRASA’s metro commuter railway lines in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.