Railways starts Wi-Fi facility on Howrah-Rajdhani Express

The passengers on the Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani would now have a Wi-Fi Internet facility while travelling.

Minister of Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday launched Wi-Fi- facility as a pilot on the Howrah Rajdhani Express.

“To introduce internet access in a moving train was a technological challenge considering that the train passes through all type of terrain and continuous internet access in all weather is to be provided. After due deliberations on various options for providing internet access, Indian Railways decided for satellite communication link to the train and Wi-Fi connectivity to different coaches,” said Railways in a statement.

The Wi-Fi facility is being introduced for the first time on Indian Railways through state-of-the-art technology at a total cost of Rs 6.30 crore covering all the three rakes of Howrah Rajdhani Express.

The satellite communication link is arranged through a satellite hub facility set up by the Indian Railways.

Initially, 4 Mbps download bandwidth and 512 Kbps upload bandwidth is earmarked for internet facility in a moving train, the statement added.

For accessing the internet facility, the passengers will have to access the Indian Railway Wi-Fi network. The passengers will be able to register by providing the PNR and other details like mobile number among others. On validation of the data entered by the passengers, as per the existent DOT guidelines, the Login ID and Password will be sent through an SMS to the registered mobile number. The Login ID and Password will remain valid for the entire journey.

Indian Railways intend to extend this service on other Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto express trains progressively based on the customer feedback and acceptance, it said.