Hi-fi with Wi-Fi

Waking up to the passengers' need to access the internet while on the move, the Railways has decided to introduce Wi-Fi on trains. PT reports.RAIL travel need not be a boring experience anymore, especially if you are tech-savvy , or can't do without having access to email or webbrowsing . RailTel, the communications arm of the Indian Railways, has recently announced that it is undertaking an intellectual makeover of the 500 railway stations across the country and will be providing Wi-Fi connectivity through Local Area Network (LAN) to railway commuters.The facility that is till now restricted only to the international airports in the country, will be available in Bangalore Station in three months, and will soon be implemented in 49 other cities, including Pune.
It will enable the Wi-Fi or WiMax-enabled laptop and palmtop users to access internet without any data-cables or wires. Says Manoj Sinha, senior divisional signal and telecommunication engineer, "Commuters will be able to carry their laptops and palmtops and stay connected with the world even when travelling and do their work smoothly."
After the completion of the first phase, more than 500 stations across India will have the Wi-Fi facility. RailTel has already carried out the Wi-Fi connectivity test on a few trains to check out if they can provide the passengers with uninterrupted connectivity even on long distance trains. Srikant Patil, a regular traveller, says, "I have to travel frequently due to my business, and because of that, at times, I can't keep in touch with my business associates across the country, which is very depressing. But, now, with Indian Railways deciding to take such a step, I am sure it will help us a lot in easing our lives."
Similar thoughts are voiced by Dillip Sathaye, content developer in an IT company, "I commute from Mumbai to Pune a lot, and my job demands that I be online or check my mails constantly. So, Pune Station becoming Wi-Fi has a great advantage for me."
Also, there are plans of opening 250 fully air-conditioned cybercafes offering internet browsing, internet telephony video-conferencing and audio-video chatting at the stations. Manjula Sinha, a student, says, "Students will benefit a lot from this proposal. For the last three months, I was continuously travelling for the admissions, and the pressure was so much that the first thing I did after getting down from the train was rush to a cybercafe to check out the results. It was maddening, but now with cybercafes within the stations, it will be very convenient."
So, arm yourself with your laptop and get ready for that long journey you always wanted to go.
sumantha.rathore@timesgroup.com