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New Jersey Trains to get WiFi
(02 Sep 2010, BWCS Staff)US East Coast train company NJ Transit is preparing to launch a tender to provide WiFi access on all of its trains and stations. The agency said yesterday that it is poised to start the process of signing up a supplier to provide on-board and on-platform WiFi services to cover the dozen rail lines and 165 stations that it operates across the state.
Despite Internet connections being available on Amtrak's prestigious Acela trains in the north east corner of the US, WiFi access is rare on commuter trains in North America. NJ Transit plans to be one of the first to offer metro train users the ability to log-on during their short journeys to and from work. The agency hopes to have a contract in place by the end of the year with the system to be launched early in 2011.
NJ Transit has so far refused to say if the service will be free, or if passengers will have to pay for it. However, it does hope that it will be provided at no cost to itself. In a statement, James Weinstein, director of the agency said, "The provision of wireless Internet service would be a welcome amenity for our customers, enabling those who wish to remain connected and productive during their commute to do so continuously."
A meeting of interested parties is planned for next week at the agency's Newark HQ.
The presentations from this year's WiFi on Trains conference are available now, though not for free - unless you attended the conference itself - from www.TrainComms2010.com . BWCS will also be hosting a new conference looking at CCTV services on trains and other forms of transport in November of this year, please see www.CCTVtransport.com or e-mail [email protected] for details.
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