India’s National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has expanded its rollout of multi-lane free-flow tolling, with systems now deployed at several toll plazas across the national highway network.

On 25 June, NHAI commenced the rollout of a multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling system at Gharaunda Toll Plaza on the Panipat-Jalandhar section of National Highway-44. The system uses electronic toll collection technology, sensors and cameras mounted on overhead gantries to identify vehicles and deduct tolls through FASTag, allowing vehicles to pass through the tolling point without stopping or slowing. NHAI said the Gharaunda deployment follows successful MLFF implementations at Choryasi in Gujarat, Mundka Toll Plaza in Delhi and Daulatpura Toll Plaza in Rajasthan.

The Daulatpura system, located on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, was delivered by ViaPlus in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank for Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a joint venture led by NHAI. Located on a six-lane interstate corridor connecting New Delhi with Rajasthan, the Daulatpura system is among the first toll plazas in India to transition to barrier-free operations. ViaPlus said the upgrade is expected to reduce congestion and improve journey times for the 10 million vehicles using the highway each year. ViaPlus acted as system integrator for the Daulatpura project, leading end-to-end delivery in five months. The site includes a new lane system, overhead vehicle detection and classification sensors, the company’s Alpha back-office platform and Sightline image-review technology.

Vehicles are identified either through FASTag, India’s electronic toll collection system, or through licence plate recognition. As each vehicle passes the tolling point, the system automatically identifies and classifies it, validates the transaction and processes the toll. ViaPlus said its Sightline technology uses artificial intelligence to support image review for vehicles without FASTag, including by improving licence plate images in heavy traffic or where plate clarity is poor.

NHAI said users at MLFF sites should maintain sufficient FASTag balance, ensure tags are active and properly affixed, use clear and compliant high-security registration plates, and follow traffic discipline within tolling zones. For unsuccessful toll payments, including cases involving insufficient FASTag balance, inactive tags or tag-related issues, NHAI has introduced an e-notice mechanism. Users can pay the normal toll rate within 72 hours, while payment after 72 hours is charged at twice the applicable toll rate.