Surat/New Delhi, May 1: Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said India has launched its first Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) barrier-less tolling system at the Choryasi toll plaza on the Surat-Bharuch section of National Highway-48 in Gujarat, allowing vehicles to pass without stopping and marking a shift towards fully automated toll collection.
Announcing the rollout on Friday, Gadkari said the system uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and FASTag technology to allow seamless toll collection. “The country’s first Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) barrier-less tolling system has been launched today. This state-of-the-art solution enables seamless toll collection without halting vehicles,” he said.
The Choryasi toll plaza, located on the busy Mumbai-Delhi corridor, has been developed as a pilot for nationwide adoption of barrier-free tolling. The system eliminates physical barriers, with overhead gantries fitted with high-resolution cameras and RFID sensors that identify vehicles and deduct toll charges directly from linked accounts without manual intervention.
Officials said vehicles can pass through the toll point at normal highway speeds without stopping, reducing congestion and long queues that are common on high-traffic routes. The system also identifies vehicles without valid FASTags through number plate recognition and issues notices for toll payment. Gadkari said the initiative forms part of a broader effort to digitise and modernise India’s highway infrastructure.
“The introduction of MLFF marks a significant step towards digitising the tolling ecosystem and modernising National Highway infrastructure to global standards,” he said. The minister added that the system is expected to reduce travel time, improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions by cutting idling time at toll plazas.
“The transformative system will reduce travel time, ease congestion, improve fuel efficiency, lower vehicular emissions, and minimise human intervention in toll operations,” he said. The government has indicated that the Surat installation will serve as a model for wider implementation, with plans to expand MLFF technology across more than 1,000 toll plazas in the coming years as part of a nationwide transition to barrier-less tolling. Gadkari said the move would also support economic activity by improving logistics efficiency.
“Barrier-less tolling will enhance ‘Ease of Living’ for citizens while strengthening ‘Ease of Doing Business’ by enabling faster and more efficient movement of goods and logistics,” he said. The MLFF system is part of the Centre’s push to deploy technology-driven solutions across the national highway network, aligning infrastructure development with global practices and reducing reliance on manual toll collection.
IANS
