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Luxembourg to Trial WiFi on Trains
(10 Oct 2016, BWCS Staff)The national train operator in Luxembourg, Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), is to test out WiFi on a number of its services. Reports in the daily Luxembourger Wort newspaper say that Infrastructure Minister, François Bausch, plans to kick-start a pilot scheme involving some of the new double-decker KISS trains that CFL is due to take delivery of next year.
According to Bausch, the new trains will be fitted with WiFi and 3G/4G repeaters. The train company, which already uses this type of train on much of its 270km of track, said it will then test the WiFi service for several months. At the end of this period CFL will decide whether to equip all of its trains with on-board passenger internet services.
The minister told the Wort newspaper, “It is clear that its success will depend on the quality of coverage offered by telecommunications firms along the rail network, in order to ensure uninterrupted Wifi, CFL will call for better network coverage.” He claimed.
Meanwhile, bus passengers in Luxembourg using RGTR lines 202 and 203 have been able to access free Wifi since 2012. Bausch said there were no plans for a systematic roll-out across the national bus network in the short-term, however, he did not rule it out when operator contracts next come up for tender in 2018.
The problem of how to improve trackside coverage will be one of the main topics addressed at next year’s WiFi on Trains Conference hosted by BWCS in London. For more information about the event, including speaking and sponsoring opportunities, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .
Details on last year’s Conference can be found here www.Traincomms2016.com .
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