Railways to soon introduce speedy Wi-Fi access for passengers onboard the train

Under the new system, the Wi-Fi devices will be installed on a track-side equipment basis at periodic intervals for uninterrupted Internet access.

Research for the project is being carried out by IIT Chennai and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).

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IIT has already developed a concept and C-DOT is working on an existing equipment which requires some modifications before it can be implemented for the trains. Indian Railways is also on the lookout for partners for the project.

As per a statement from an official, a pilot project will be started in the Chennai-Bangalore line soon.

The development comes at a time when Indian Railways is trying hard to get an image makeover and boost its present state of services especially in light of recent accusations made by the CAG and its efforts to match up to the aviation sector to which it is fast losing passengers.

Currently, Wi-Fi access across trains is being provided by the RailTel Corporation of India.

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The Indian Railways has also started providing onboard entertainment in selected trains and it also launched RailCloud – a virtual server with an inbuilt security system that will enable faster connectivity at a reduced cost.