Paranur toll plaza to go barrier-free from October 1

CHENNAI: Motorists travelling on the GST Road can look forward to quicker passage through Paranur toll plaza near Chengalpattu, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) set to introduce barrier-less toll collection under the Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system from zero hours on October 1.

Paranur will become the first user fee plaza in Tamil Nadu to shift to fully automated fee collection on National Highways, with the system using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and FASTag-linked RFID technology.

The rollout comes ahead of the long weekend, with Gandhi Jayanthi falling on Friday, and is expected to provide relief to motorists heading to southern districts. Paranur is among the busiest toll plazas in the State, handling traffic on NH-45, the key road link between Chennai and southern Tamil Nadu.

Under MLFF, vehicles will no longer have to slow down or stop at toll booths. High-performance RFID readers will detect the vehicle's FASTag while AI-enabled ANPR cameras capture and read its registration number. The system will match the FASTag and vehicle details in real time and automatically deduct the applicable toll from the linked account.

NHAI officials said the dual-layer system would improve the accuracy of toll collection and help prevent revenue leakage. ANPR would serve as a backup where FASTag detection fails.

On access-controlled highways, the technology can also calculate tolls based on the actual distance travelled by using vehicle entry and exit data.

The system is expected to remove queues at toll plazas and allow uninterrupted movement of traffic, reducing travel time, fuel consumption and vehicular emissions. It is also expected to lower the operational and maintenance costs associated with conventional toll plazas.

Following Paranur, NHAI is likely to introduce MLFF at Nemili near Sriperumbudur and Chennasamudaram near Wallajah on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway after trial operations.

NHAI has also invited bids for replacing the existing toll plazas on the Chennai Bypass, connecting Tambaram and Puzhal through Maduravoyal, with an MLFF system.