In-Train Wi-Fi Project Dropped Over Cost, Says Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

"This technology was capital intensive with recurring costs," Vaishnaw said.

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 5 August 2021 13:20 IST

In-Train Wi-Fi Project Dropped Over Cost, Says Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Photo Credit: Twitter/ @RailTel

Currently, Wi-Fi facility is being provided by the Indian Railways at more than 6,000 stations

Highlights

Cost effective technology is not available at present
The Internet bandwidth availability to passengers was inadequate
Wi-Fi based Internet was provided in the Howrah Rajdhani Express train

The railways has "dropped" a project to provide Internet connection in trains because it was not cost effective, the government informed Parliament on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said as a pilot project, Wi-Fi based Internet facility was provided in the Howrah Rajdhani Express train through satellite communication technology.

"This technology was capital intensive with recurring costs in the form of bandwidth charges and thus, was not cost effective. Also, the Internet bandwidth availability to passengers was inadequate.

Free Wi-Fi Service to Continue Even After Google Contract Ends: RailTel

"Hence, the project was dropped. At present, suitable cost effective technology for provision of Wi-Fi based Internet services in trains is not available," he said.

Former railway minister Piyush Goyal had said in 2019 that the Centre is planning to provide Wi-Fi services in trains in the next four to four-and-a-half years.

Railways to Get Contactless Ticketing With QR Code-Enabled Tickets

Currently, Wi-Fi facility is being provided by the Indian Railways at more than 6,000 stations on a self-sustainable basis with no cost to the national transporter. The facility is being provided with the help of RailTel, a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways.

Is OnePlus cannibalising itself with the Nord 2 5G? We discussed this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.