Over 100 high-res cameras, AI-system and Radar units- How NHAI's new traffic system on Dwarka Expressway aim to curb India's infamous road fatalities record
At the control room of Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) on Dwarka Expressway, a video and photo pops up on Abhishek Singh's computer monitor. Singh, a traffic operator, clicks at the 15-second video that records an SUV is passing through at the speed of 163 kilometres per hour at 8.29 am from Bharthal chowk on the expressway. The photo flashes the number plate of the vehicle.
The photo and video was generated by the Incident Detection & Enforcement System (VIDES), which is one of the key component of ATMS ecosystem and is equipped with advanced sensors including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, overview cameras, and radar units on the Dwarka Expressway.
'These are very advanced cameras, which sends accurate visual of the violations. We check these videos and photos, which is created by the AI-powered system from 8 to 10 frames, to make sure that there is no error in the violations. The cameras are right at 90 percent times,' said Singh, as he forwards the violations, after auditing, to the NIC for further action by district authorities.
The ATMS on Dwarka Expressway, which became operational from April this year, is the first project to be implemented as per the upgraded policy of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) issued in October 2023, which mandates the use of advancements in AI technology and new cameras for enforcement of traffic rules. The project is being implemented through Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a company promoted by NHAI.
The new system bridges the gap between district traffic police and the highway authority, and share the camera feed to check violations, issue challans and reduce incident response time. The share of National Highways in fatalities is more than 35 per cent, while only making up about two per cent of the total road length.
The ATMS project on Dwarka Expressway spans a total length of 56.46 km —covering entire stretch of 28.46 km along Dwarka Expressway and another 28 km on the Delhi–Gurgaon stretch of NH-48 from Shiv Murti on NH-8 in Delhi to Kherki Daula Toll Plaza in Gurgaon. The total cost of the project is Rs. 16.7 crore.
The ATMS mandates the installation of key five systems- Traffic Monitoring Camera System (TMCS), Video Incident Detection and Enforcement System (VIDES), Vehicle Actuated Speed Display (VASD) System, Variable Message Sign (VMS) and Optical Fiber Cable based networking.
The TMCS enables 24-hours live surveillance of traffic flow, stalled vehicles, and accidents. For this, a total of 110 high-resolution PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) cameras have been installed at the interval of 1 km, covering the full corridor of the expressway. This reduces the need for manual monitoring load and helps in post-incident investigations.
To record the violations, the VIDES have been installed at every 10 km, primarily at high-risk zones and accident-prone areas. The system is capable of detecting 14 types of incidents, including over-speeding, two-wheeler or banned vehicle, wrong-lane driving, triple riding, seat-belt violations, and helmet violations.
NHAI officials said that a total of 15 VIDES gantry have been installed on the complete stretch. This has been integrated with NIC e-Challan platform, so that respective police department can issue challan at their end. VIDES also helps in real-time traffic data collection.
Under the ATMS on Dwarka Expressway, a total of six Vehicle Actuated Speed Display System or VASD has been installed at the interval of almost 20 km for speed awareness, using radar-based detection on LED boards.
Officials said that a total of 10 VMS has been installed at the expressway for the smart communication with Commuters. Placed at key locations, including project entries, exits, blackspots, and junctions, VMS provides real-time updates on traffic conditions, diversions, weather, and incidents.
AR Chitranshi, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), IHMCL, said that on an average 800 incidents per day are being sent to NIC for e-Challan.
'We are providing back end support to the challaning authority. We monitor the complete stretch of the expressway, get the details of every violations and then send cases to NIC where challan can be issued. NIC further share information to the district police, who re-audit the incidents and issue challan accordingly,' said Chitranshi to The Indian Express.
He further said that for road users, ATMS will ensure safer roads by timely incident management, reducing accidents, easing congestion, and proactive traffic management. 'The major violations that we have seen so far is over speeding, plying of two-wheeler, which is prohibited, seatbelt and helmet violations,' said the official.
Before, Dwarka Expressway, the old version of ATMS was implemented on 117-km Bangalore-Mysuru Expressway in Karnataka in July, 2024. Built at the cost of Rs. 3.6 crore, the system brought down fatalities from 188 in 2023 to 50 deaths in 2024.
The similar standalone projects are under construction on 180-km Delhi-Agra Corridor in Uttar Pradesh, 75-km UER-II in Delhi and 103-km lucknow ring road in UP. Apart from this, In new national highway projects on high density and high-speed corridors of NHAI, installation of ATMS has been made part of the project.
Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
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