(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- The first driverless train operating system developed by UniTTEC will ply the Rail Transit Line 5 in Ningbo, southeastern China's Zhejiang province, in a sign of the great progress the company has made in advancing its autonomous driving technology.

The firm won the bid for the signaling system in the first phase of the project for CNY265 million (USD39 million), the leading smart rail construction firm based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, announced late yesterday.

The first phase of Line 5 under construction in Ningbo is about 28 kilometers long and serves 22 stops. The system is both above and below ground. It is set to open in September 2021.

DTO is unmanned, but human-attended, inferior only to fully unattended train operating systems in its degree of automation, public data show. By adding DTO, a signaling system controls train starts, stops and operation with a staff member aboard each train to tackle emergencies, if any.

Signaling systems developed by the firm are in use in rail transit in 13 cities nationwide and winning the bid for the Ningbo rail highlights improvements in the firm's smart products and technologies and expansion of its business and will extend its influence in the urban rail transit signaling system market in East China, per the announcement.

Editor: Ben Armour