One of the world’s leading systems integrators will upgrade the road infrastructure and the back-office management of the toll system on the M1 PPP (public-private-partnership) motorway, which is one of the main highways in Ireland.
Spanish multinational Indra has won a new contract in Ireland, worth €3.6m (US$3.9m), to renew the toll system on one of the main highways in the country, the M1 PPP which forms part of the motorway connecting the capital Dublin to the border of Northern Ireland (UK).
The M1 PPP is used by more than 30,000 vehicles every day. The concessionaire, Celtic Roads Group (Dundalk), has again opted to use Indra technology after the company upgraded and standardized the toll systems on this highway in 2004, and extended the systems to new high-speed roads in 2009. Celtic Roads Group has also commissioned Indra to provide the maintenance for the system for an initial one-year period that may be extended to a total of 12 years.
The contract strengthens Indra’s position as one of the leading providers of toll system technology in Ireland, having already installed its equipment on the N25 Waterford, M7/M8 Portlaoise and N6 Galway highways, as well as on the Ringsend Bridge in Dublin, formerly known as the East Link Bridge. The company’s experience in the Irish traffic sector also includes the control and signal systems for the tunnel connecting Dublin Port to the northern sector of the city, which it implemented in 2006. The company is still responsible for the maintenance of the systems that it implemented in all of these projects.
Under the terms of the new contract, Indra will upgrade the road infrastructure and the back office system of the M1 PPP mainline and two ramp plazas, in order to renew the technology in accordance with the standards issued by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), formerly the National Roads Authority (NRA). Specifically, Indra will install multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) electronic toll systems on the highway, so that vehicles will be able to drive straight through at 50mph (80km/h) without stopping.
The technology also includes manual payment systems with a toll collector, and unattended payment systems equipped with convenient automatic machines that accept all payment types from users. The company’s new back-office system will manage the collection of payments and keep track of revenues easily and securely, acting as an intermediary between the banks and providers. The works involve maintaining the existing toll system and working closely with the operator company, North-Link M1, to phase the new system into operation.
Indra has already implemented its tolling technology in numerous countries, including Canada, the USA, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Montenegro, Algeria, the Philippines, China and India. The company recently won the contract for one of the world’s largest electronic toll systems ever developed, located in Mexico, where it implemented its technology across the entire network of public highways. Comprising nearly 500 roads, the network represents a combined total of 2,485 miles (4,000km) and accounts for approximately 45% of the country’s highways.
