Automatic camera toll system to be rolled out on Chennai-Bengaluru highway and GST road: NHAI

Chennai: In a major move to ease traffic congestion at toll plazas, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to introduce a camera-based automatic toll collection system on key stretches of the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway and GST Road.

The new system, called Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF), will replace conventional toll booths with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras integrated with the FASTag platform, allowing vehicles to pass through toll points without stopping. Designed to capture registration details at speeds of up to 150 km/h, the system aims to provide seamless, congestion-free travel.

The MLFF will first be implemented at the Nemili (Sriperumbudur) and Chennasamudram toll plazas on the Chennai-Bengaluru NH, and at the Paranur toll plaza on the Tambaram-Villupuram stretch of GST Road. These busy corridors handle roughly 75,000 passenger car units daily, according to NHAI data.

Once operational, ANPR cameras will automatically record vehicle details and deduct the applicable toll from the driver’s FASTag account, significantly reducing travel time, fuel consumption, and traffic bottlenecks.

The Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), under the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, will oversee the rollout. Tenders have already been floated to appoint an operator to design, develop, and maintain the system for five years.

Officials said the six-lane main carriageway will remain fully open, with overhead ANPR cameras and RFID readers installed at strategic points for smooth toll deduction. Each camera will capture clear number plate images and short video clips from up to 40 metres, while RFID devices will detect vehicles up to 300 metres before the toll point.

The contractor is expected to complete installation within 14 months of the work order. Separate procedures will be notified to recover tolls in cases where automatic deduction fails.

Once fully functional, the MLFF system is expected to eliminate long queues at toll plazas, ushering in a new era of smart, fast, and frictionless highway travel.

IANS