The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Sunday launched an electronic toll collection system on the 325-km Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway, at the Sriperumbudur plaza.
‘FASTag’ is a radio frequency identity card that is fixed on vehicle windscreens and can be used at all toll plazas across the country. A similar system is operational on the Delhi–Mumbai Corridor, and is expected to be extended to 300 plazas by the year-end. The Tag works like a prepaid toll account and facilitates automatic deduction of the toll when vehicles cross the plazas.
Cards can be purchased at toll plazas where counters are being set up. An amount of Rs. 250 will be collected as the initial fee and basic details about vehicles and its owners have to be given to staff of ICICI and Axis banks who will be on duty at these counters.
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Attibele, Krishnagiri, Chennasamudram, Peddakallupalli, and Sriperumbudur will have the facility at 35 plazas in two weeks, said V. Chinna Reddy, Chief General Manager (Technical), NHAI, Chennai.
S. Yuvaraj, president, Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owners Federation, welcomed the new system, as it would help reduce waiting time at toll plazas. “The Sriperumbudur plaza is one point on the Chennai–Bengaluru highway where we get stuck during peak hours. And since the card can be used across India, it will be useful for vehicles travelling across States,” he said.
He, however, said that the NHAI must complete the widening of the Vangaram-Walajapet stretch to prevent bottlenecks on the 96-km road. The launch was attended by Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; R.C. Palekar, General Manager, NHAI, New Delhi; and A.K. Sharma, General Manager, NHAI, New Delhi.
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