News
Pakistan Railways Heading for Free WiFi
(19 Sep 2016, BWCS Staff)Pakistan Railways has revealed some more detail about its plans to introduce WiFi on its long-distance passenger trains. Speaking at the weekend, Rail Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, reported that he has formed a committee to thrash out the details of the scheme over the next few weeks. In addition to putting free WiFi on the trains, the Minister said that Pakistan Railways will also be installing hotspots at all major stations.
As part of its modernisation drive, the train company is also planning to introduce e-ticketing services. According to reports in the local press an agreement has recently been signed between Pakistan Railways and United Bank Ltd for providing a mobile and online ticket system. Apparently, passengers will be able to use credit or debit cards and the UBL Omni mobile banking application to purchase tickets. The train operator will then send confirmation via SMS to the passenger’s mobile phone. The text will contain the ticket number, date and time of the train together with the coach and seat number reserved for the passenger together with the passenger’s national identity card number. The Minister hinted that other new digital services will be examined and may be introduced in the near future.
In 2012 Pakistan Railways launched WiFi services on board its flagship business express train between Lahore and Karachi. The Pak Business Express covers the 1,200km journey in around 18 hours. The addition of WiFi and TV services on the 13 coach service has been widely viewed as a major plus by travellers. The train is a joint venture between Pakistan Railways and private investment vehicle M/S Four Brothers.
Last year, the national train operator announced that it would be offering WiFi on its newly re-branded Greenline trains covering the 23 hour haul between Karachi and Islamabad. However, the service has since come in for criticism over the speed and extent of coverage offered on the route.
The railway system in Pakistan is currently undergoing an US$8.5 billion upgrade as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. The first phase of the project will be completed by December next year and the remainder by 2021.
The problem of how to improve trackside coverage was one of the main topics addressed at the recent WiFi on Trains Conference hosted by BWCS in London. There were several new announcements made during the Conference, all of which can be found at www.Traincomms2016.com .
For more information about next year’s Conference, including speaking and sponsoring opportunities, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .
Back