Austria-based transport systems provider Kapsch TrafficCom (Kapsch) has announced that its multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling system is now operational in Norway.

Last month, the six-point MLFF tolling system was installed by Kapsch at the Ryfast sub-sea tunnel system in Rogaland.

Kapsch secured the contract to develop the tolling system from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) in October.

Kapsch area sales manager for Nordic countries Mikael Hejel said: “While we have installed our systems at tunnels, bridges, cities and roadways all around the world, we are proud to be part of the Ryfast project.

“We are very happy that we have managed to implement a reliable and high-performing system in such a short time.”

One of the world’s longest and deepest undersea road tunnels, the Ryfast tunnel system runs from the city of Stavanger to the municipality of Strand. The tunnel is 14.3km-long and built at a depth of 292m.

Kapsch’s tolling system has been designed to detect and identify all passing vehicles with video technology that categorises vehicles and captures their front and rear licence plates.

The tolling system can also detect and read AutoPASS toll tags, which are linked to the vehicle’s licence plate number using microwaves.

Information captured by the tolling system is transmitted to a back office for further processing so vehicle owners can be invoiced.

Statens Vegvesen AutoPASS/Bompeng systems chief engineer Kristian Rognskog said: “Because a previous tolling system could not be set into operation, we had to retender a new tolling system and allocate a tight time schedule.

“In addition, given the current Covid-19 situation and closed borders, it was a challenging task for both Statens Vegvesen and Kapsch to comply with the schedule.

“Therefore, we are very pleased with the open dialogue and the transparency we have had with Kapsch TrafficCom, which allowed the new tolling system to be implemented in an extremely short time.”