TMCnet News

All Aboard the Wi-Fi Train
[November 23, 2005]

All Aboard the Wi-Fi Train


By CINDY WAXER
TMCnet Contributing Editor

VIA Rail Canada, Canada's national passenger rail service, is hoping to court business travelers by extending Wi-Fi service to all its customers in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor by signing a five-year partnership agreement with Parsons Corporation to offer Wi-Fi service to all VIA 1 and Comfort class customers by November 2006. The partnership marks the first commercial fleet deployment of on train Wi-Fi in North America.



"This value added service aimed primarily at business travelers and students will provide access to e-mail and the Internet, create opportunities for private applications like e-ticketing and could even provide operational information through electronic logbooks and engine telemetry," said Steve Del Bosco, VIA Rail's vice-president of marketing.

VIA Rail Canada carries four million passengers a year and its tracks span nearly 9,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay. However, such breadth of service hasn't stopped today's air carriers from giving the government-owned operation a run for its money. By joining forces with Parsons, VIA Rail will build a private Wi-Fi network serving all VIA 1 and Comfort class cars, 22 stations and all seven Panorama lounges. The system will combine satellite communications, cellular communications and Wi-Fi technology to access the Internet. As a result, customers using a laptop computer with 802.11 wireless capability or any other similarly equipped mobile device will be able to experience continuous Wi-Fi access while on board.


North American railway operators have been accused of jumping on the Wi-Fi train a tad too late. Wi-Fi is being rolled out across the United Kingdom's Great North Eastern Railway almost a year ahead of schedule, with Wi-Fi expected on the majority of trains by summer 2006. And with assistance of partner company Icomera, the GNER has already installed new modems on all existing Wi-Fi trains, using the latest 3G mobile technology to increase bandwidth and improve connection speeds. The GNER plans to double the number of modems on board by the completion of the rollout.

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Cindy Waxer is a Toronto-based freelance journalist specializing in business and technology. She has written for publications including TIME, Fortune Small Business, Business 2.0, Computerworld, Canadian Business, and Workforce Management. To see more of her articles, please visit Cindy Waxer's columnist page.


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