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Free WiFi on Delhi Airport Express Takes Off
(17 Oct 2016, BWCS Staff)Commuters using the Airport Express Metro Line in Delhi can now enjoy free and unlimited WiFi services at all of its six stations. However, the new service is merely a prelude to the introduction of WiFi on all trains and platforms in the Delhi Metro system, which is expected to happen by the middle of next year.
The new service, called “Oui DMRC Free WiFi”, can be accessed by entering a mobile number and then typing in the auto-generated One Time Password. According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director, Mangu Singh, quoted in The Hindu newspaper, “WiFi will be available at speeds of up to 50Mbps. People will be able to access Internet applications like e-mail, Facebook, Google and video chat as well as live streaming of cricket and football matches and so on inside the station premises,” he said.
Following the launch of WiFi at the stations on the Airport Express Line, the DMRC will extend the service to its Blue Line and then the rest of the network. The train operator has tied up with a consortium led by M/s Techno Sat Comm, which presently runs India’s first WiFi on train service on the Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express.
“The entire metro network will be covered and the same agency has been mandated to cover the entire network. They have started with the Airport Express Line first and they will now cover first the stations and then the trains,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu. Earlier this year, limited WiFi services were launched at inter-change stations like Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Central Secretariat.
The 22.7km Airport Express corridor has seen a steady rise in ridership over the past two years. When the Delhi Metro took over the operations of the AEML on July 1st, 2013, it had a ridership of around 9,000. By contrast, its total ridership figure crossed 50,000 passengers in a day in August of this year.
“Various steps such as extension of timings to suit the passengers of Shatabdi Express trains, improvement of frequency from 15 minutes to 10 minutes 30 seconds, improvement of speed from 70kmph to 80kmph, seamless interchange between the Indian Railways station at New Delhi and Metro stations resulted in increases in ridership to 14,200 a day,” explained a metro official.
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 – please see www.Traincomms2017.com . For more information about the event, including speaking and sponsoring opportunities, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com
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