Cube Highways, a group of Singapore-based companies that invests in highway projects and other select infrastructure sectors in India, announced the installation of the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) between Madurai and Kanyakumari. 

The company claims that the ATMS commissioned on the two stretches of National Highway (NH-7) is by far one of the most advanced systems ever implemented on any national highway in the country.

The Madurai-Kanyakumari Tollway Limited (MKTL) operates a 52.3-km, four-lane toll road in Tamil Nadu. The road forms the first part of four contiguous stretches on NH-7 connecting Madurai to Kanyakumari. The Kanyakumari-EtturavattamTollway Limited (KETL) operates a 64.2-km, four-lane toll road in Tamil Nadu, forming the second part of four contiguous stretches on NH-7 connecting Madurai to Kanyakumari. 

In November 2019, the National Highways Authority of India awarded both the projects to Cube Highways for a 30-year concession as part of the TOT3 (Toll Operate Transfer) bundle after it won the competitive bidding.

Intelligent network cameras

In a press release, Cube Highways said the ATMS will cover two consecutive stretches of a total of 116.5 km of NH-7, connecting major cities like Madurai and Tirunelveli. ATMS commissioned on the MKTL stretch is integrated with the densest installation of intelligent network cameras – a Video Incident Detection System (VIDS), it added.

“ATMS implemented by Cube Highways will make a huge difference to road safety across the country. These tools and technologies for highway management will help in reducing accidents on the highways,” the release quoted Vibhav Mittal, Regional Officer, NHAI, Madurai, as saying. 

The VIDS, one of the critical components of ATMS, has smart network cameras installed every 250 meters. Besides, the network’s pan-tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras are also equipped with night vision and zoom-in zoom-out capabilities to patrol the highway stretches. The combination of VIDS and PTZ installed on both stretches tracks speed violations, lane closures, and other incidents on the road. 

Ambati Srinivasa Kiran Kumar, Project Head, MKTL & KETL, said that in case of a road accident, the victim is generally dependent on the help of other people on the road. “But ATMS will immediately notify the command centre in the event of an incident on the highway. Within minutes, the control centre determines the required assistance and sends it out.”