After providing Wi-Fi service at railway stations in India, the Indian government is now planning to provide free Wi-Fi service inside trains running in the country. This information was shared by the Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal who also shared a timeline for this ambitious project.
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Goyal, who also holds the charge for Commerce and Industry ministry said that the central government is planning to provide Wi-Fi service inside trains within four-and-a-half years. “It is a more complicated technology subject. Giving WiFi in running trains requires investment… Towers need to be put and there have to be equipments inside trains. In this, we might have to bring in foreign technology and investors,” Goyal said in a statement to ANI.
He said that the Wi-Fi service inside the trains will also help in maintaining security inside the train compartments. “….it will help a lot in terms of security as CCTVs would be there in every train compartment and its live feed will go to police station. The signaling system will work in a better manner through WiFi facility. In next four or four-and-a-half years we will start this facility,” the railway minister said.
Apart from providing Wi-Fi inside the trains, the railway minister also said that the government was planning to expand the program as a part of which railway stations in the country get Wi-Fi service. At present Wi-Fi service is available at around 5,150 railway stations in the country. Now, the government is planning to provide internet or Wi-Fi service at 6,500 stations across the country. “We are trying to provide WiFi services at all 6,500 stations by end of next year,” Goyal told the news agency.
It is worth noting that apart from the Indian government, Google is working on expanding its Google Station program at more railway stations across the country. To give you a brief, Google’s Station program debuted with Mumbai Central railway station in January 2016 and the company added its 400th station — Dibrugarh in Assam – to the network last year. In its next phase, Google has partnered with BSNL to provide free Wi-Fi program to villages in Gujarat, Bihar and Maharashtra that are yet to get Wi-Fi connectivity.
