Luzhou-Yongchuan Expressway Cloud-based Toll Collection System Construction Project

In recent years, Sichuan has steadily advanced the digital transformation of highways and accelerated the development of smart highways. The Luyong Expressway (Luzhou–Yongchuan) is a key strategic corridor within the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and a vital road link between Luzhou and Chongqing. It plays a significant role in promoting coordinated growth across the Chengdu-Chongqing region, helping Luzhou build a regional multimodal transportation hub and establishing a tourist distribution center. Luyong Company, a subsidiary of Shudao Group, has taken the lead in the smart transformation of expressway toll services by piloting Sichuan’s first fully integrated smart toll station at the Yuchanshan Toll Station on the Luyong Expressway.

Located in Lu County, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, the Yuchanshan Smart Toll Station on the Luyong Expressway has eight lanes (three entry and five exit), including five ETC lanes, one self-service card pickup lane, one self-service payment lane, and one emergency backup lane. The toll station leverages intelligent toll robots, ETC exception-handling devices, a cloud-based tolling system, and smart cloud kiosks to realize fully unmanned lanes and centralized station-wide control. This achieves the operational goal of “standardized equipment and facilities + unified user services + refined operational management.”

Deploying the GBase 8s database, the solution meets user needs with superior functionality, performance, and architectural design:

• Powerful functionality: GBase 8s supports petabyte-scale data processing, over 65,536 tables in a single database, and more than 10 billion rows per table. It provides large object types like Blob and Clob, accommodating media files and large files up to 4TB, fully satisfying functional requirements.

• High performance: GBase 8s supports a connection queue of up to 3,000, with query response times under one second for results of up to one million rows. It also offers performance optimization for scenarios involving large data volumes and highly complex processing, fully meeting performance demands.

To date, the new-generation smart toll stations on Sichuan Expressways have been deployed and are running stably at locations including Yuchanshan, Jianmenguan, Yibin University Town, Desheng, Guanwen, Nanming, and Nanchong East. Built on a full-stack, China-developed hardware and software environment, these stations have enabled digital and intelligent toll management. The station-level core data layer is powered by the GBase database, efficiently supporting toll system operations and driving Sichuan's expressway smart transportation into a new phase.

Significant Results in Domestic Technology Replacement

The GBase 8s database matches foreign databases in stability, functionality, and performance. Data, views, and triggers from the original SQL Server database were migrated smoothly.

Substantially Improved Traffic Throughput

For ETC vehicles, the system automatically lifts the barrier after accurately comparing vehicle information, OBU data, and license plates, enabling seamless and rapid passage. For non‑ETC vehicles, the self‑service toll system achieves an average entry card issuance time of no more than 5 seconds, about 10% faster than manual issuance, and an average exit toll time of no more than 15 seconds, improving exit toll efficiency by 30%.

Remote Control via Smart Cloud Stations

Serving as the "brain and central hub" of the new toll station, the Smart Cloud Station has achieved full Chinese‑origin adoption for key components such as servers, operating systems, and databases, effectively mitigating potential external cybersecurity threats. Through the Smart Cloud Station, lane and equipment status can be monitored efficiently in real time, and special situations can be handled remotely via the system, reducing lane congestion and safety risks for smoother and more efficient travel.

Optimized and Streamlined Staffing

From within the Smart Cloud Station, toll staff can remotely control multiple lanes simultaneously. Their responsibilities have shifted from repetitive toll‑collection tasks to more comprehensive management and service‑oriented work such as system operation and maintenance, data analysis, and customer service. Through centralized station‑wide management, the staffing at Yuchan Mountain Toll Station has been reduced from the original 20 to 12, with a further reduction to 10 planned, while surplus personnel are reassigned to other stations by the company. Moreover, the adoption of intelligent technologies has significantly reduced disputes commonly encountered in manual toll collection, providing drivers and passengers with smarter, more convenient, and more comfortable travel services.