News

Nomad Launches New Trackside Network in the US

(20 Sep 2024, BWCS Staff)
On-board service provider and part of the Alstom Group, Nomad Digital, has launched its dedicated, full-coverage trackside network on the West Coast of the USA. Back in December 2022, the company won the contract to build a dedicated Trackside Radio Network for Caltrain, on the operator’s newly electrified line from San Francisco to San Jose. The route serves commuters in California travelling to and from Silicon Valley and is home to arguably one of the most hard-to-please set of travellers anywhere in the World, at least when it comes WiFi services. The Nomad network, which......

Train Company Bars Brief Encounters

(18 Sep 2024, BWCS Staff)
A UK train operator has reiterated a ban on all dating apps via its on-board WiFi service. Despite the romance of rail journeys, as reflected in David Lean's epic Brief Encounters, Northern is adamant that online trysts are forbidden on its trains. The train company said it felt it had to repeat the message for "older people and adults who have been off over the summer - and maybe not found that holiday romance". Dating apps have been blocked by Northern since 2017. To be fair, the company has also banned all “adult content”. A spokesperson said it was due to some sites not......

Leveraging Next-Generation Connectivity over the Short, Medium and Long Term

(23 Aug 2024, BWCS Staff)
Rewinding to 1999, the year that Icomera was founded, a new handheld device called the RIM Blackberry was released – It’s amazing to think how far technology has come in the intervening 25 years. Connectivity is more ubiquitous than ever, and when it comes to public transportation, passengers and systems require better connectivity to support an ever-growing list of data-intensive onboard applications. But how can transport operators best meet the challenges that they face using the latest technologies available? As you’d expect, historically WiFi usage closely mirrors......

Train Operator Gives Satellite-Delivered Connectivity a Highland Fling

(15 Aug 2024, BWCS Staff)
Trains trundling across the remote moorlands of northern Scotland will soon be able to offer passengers free high-speed WiFi. This is in spite of the sparse cellular coverage in the lochs and glens. Instead, the trains will be able to hook up to satellite delivered broadband to provide the service as part of a year-long trial funded by ScotRail and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise organisation. The pilot system is due to go live this autumn and will run until at least the end of 2025. According to reports in ISP Review, the costs will run at about £26,700 per two-car train to......

Passengera to Launch On-board WiFi on Local Train Service in Italy

(12 Jul 2024, BWCS Staff)
Arenaways, an Italian private operator renowned for its innovative approach to train travel, has announced the planned launch of an infotainment system and on-board WiFi on their new trains in collaboration with Czech-based supplier Passengera. In doing so, it will become the first non-high-speed train operator in Italy to offer passengers free WiFi on its trains. Arenaways, which was the first private train service to compete with Trenitalia, runs its red and yellow trains between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin. Since its launch in 2010 the operator gained fame for its......

WiFi Arrives on Trains in the Frozen North

(04 Jul 2024, BWCS Staff)
Ontario Northland has announced that its much-vaunted ON Board WiFi and Entertainment System is now available on its Polar Bear Express trains. The service, provided by Icomera, enables passengers to access the Internet for free throughout the five-hour journey from Cochrane to Moosonee in northern Canada. In a bid to alleviate the costs of installing the on-board equipment, the province of Ontario agreed to commit Ca$2.1 million towards the work. As the tracks run so far north, away from established urban centres and mobile network masts – as far as the southern shore of Hudson Bay......

Which UK Train Service has the Best – and Worst – WiFi?

(02 Jul 2024, BWCS Staff)
Service comparison website, Bionic, claims to have pinpointed the best (and worst) On-Train WiFi services in the UK. However, some may find the methodology used less than scientific. In order to determine which train operator was offering the poorest WiFi service to passengers, Bionic analysed all negative reviews of each train company. The results suggest that the best operator, or the one with the least complaints that included WiFi, is ScotRail. At the other end of the scale, came Cross Country Trains, with a considerably higher number of poor reviews that also moaned about the WiFi.......

Blu Gets Backing for Trackside Network

(18 Jun 2024, BWCS Staff)
High-speed connectivity company, Blu Wireless, has secured new investment from Maven Capital Partners to fund its growth. The financial company manages funds for the South West Investment Fund and is said to have been in talks with the Bristol-based tech company for six months. The precise figure has not been divulged, however, Maven Equity Finance is said to typically invest between £150,000 and £5 million into such companies. The deal is likely related to Blu’s mmWave wireless solution for rail tracks. This, the company says provides high bandwidth and low latency......

Northern Trials On-Board Automatic Passenger Counting System

(28 May 2024, BWCS Staff)
Northern, the second largest train operator in the UK, has begun trialling Automatic Passenger Counting software on some of its trains. The system, which utilises Artificial Intelligence, is said to be 98% accurate and has been installed on eight of Northern’s Class 769 trains. According to reports in The Rail Engineer, 88 cameras, 8 computers and 5km of cable have been put on board the trains which will run on services between Liverpool, Manchester, Southport, Wigan and Blackpool. Overall, Northern runs 2,500 trains a day and serves 500 stations. The recent upgrade was carried out......

The Berlin U-Bahn (Finally) Gets High-Speed Internet

(08 May 2024, BWCS Staff)
Long suffering Berliners can finally access LTE mobile connections across the entire U-Bahn network, the Berliner Morgenpost reported today. However, they will have to wait a little longer to get free WiFi on board the trains. Whilst WiFi and mobile signals have been available at all 175 U-Bahn stations in the German capital for some time, it has been a different story in the trains as they thunder across the 156km network of tracks, 80% of which are deep underground. Often working overnight, in short 3-hour windows, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has laid over 1,000km of......

Amtrak Issues Two RFIs for Brand New 450 Mile Trackside Wireless Network

(03 May 2024, BWCS Staff)
US train operator Amtrak has issued two Request for Informations (RFIs) aimed at supporting the delivery of high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity along 450 miles of track between Washington, DC and Boston. The move is part of the company’s ambitious plans to advance passenger digital experience in what it refers to as a new era of rail. Amtrak says it is keen to hear from all parties interested in progressing high-speed connectivity along its North-East Corridor (NEC), with the aim of building a wireless network from the ground up. The newly announced RFIs include requests for: Companies......

Blu Wireless Wins Backing for Trackside Fibre-less Solution

(24 Apr 2024, BWCS Staff)
Bristol-based, high-speed connectivity company, Blu Wireless, has won a lead role in a government-backed project to develop new technologies for rail telecoms. The telco, which specialises in mmWave radio networking technology, says it will be project lead in the ‘High Gain mmWave for Wireless Backhaul for Transport Applications’ category in the government-backed Future Telecoms Challenge – funded by Innovate UK. Blu Wireless says its role in the project will be to try to replace the need for trackside fibre with a higher power mmWave wireless solution. This, it says,......

Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois to Offer WiFi on All Trains

(09 Apr 2024, BWCS Staff)
All trains, trams and stations in Luxembourg will have free Internet connectivity by the end of this year, the government has promised. In addition, free WiFi on all buses should be available “soon after”. The capital city’s tram network will begin testing on-board Internet service this month and the entire network should be fitted out by the end of 2024. According to local press reports, the tram WiFi roll-out will cost less than €100,000. Meanwhile, the Grand Duchy’s train network, which spans 270km of track, is set to see WiFi access on all trains. The......

NetForecast Launches System to Automatically Measure Passenger WiFi Experience on Trains

(20 Mar 2024, BWCS Staff)
NetForecast, an independent provider of internet quality monitoring for the aviation and residential broadband markets, has launched a similar product to measure passengers’ experience of on-train WiFi systems. According to the US-based company, train operating companies (TOCs) will be able to swiftly harness insight and actionable data about on-board connectivity using its new QMap Rail system. Launched this week, after months of trials and refinements, QMap Rail, can continuously monitor network performance whilst the train is moving. NetForecast’s proprietary technology......

Passengera to Provide Polish On-Train WiFi

(18 Mar 2024, BWCS Staff)
Prague-based on-train connectivity specialist, Passengera, has announced the completion of a project to put WiFi onto trains in Poland. The value of the contract with PKP Remtrak, a branch of national passenger train company PKP, was not disclosed. The Czech company said that it has equipped 60 carriages with its Passenger G7 multi-service gateway, delivering high-speed internet access for passengers and secure data synchronization for effective operations. According to Passengera, the G7 solution provides reliable, high-speed WiFi, keeping passengers connected throughout their journeys.......

An Economist’s Case for Boosting WiFi on Trains …

(08 Mar 2024, BWCS Staff)
Isn’t it refreshing when a burst of common sense spears the fug of muddle-headed thinking and wrong, ideas? Writing in the New Statesman this week, acclaimed Oxford Economist, Daniel Susskind, pours scorn on the UK government’s proposal that train operators should aim to save £5 million a year by scrapping on-board WiFi. Instead, he argues, for a fraction of the cost of the doomed HS2 project, passengers on Britian’s railways could and should be provided with fast on-board internet connections and, being the economist he is, he puts an enticingly large monetary......

Czech Railways Plans Major Train WiFi Upgrade

(29 Feb 2024, BWCS Staff)
Ceské Dráhy, the Czech national train operator, has announced a major overhaul of its on-board passenger WiFi services. The company says it will replace all routers in 195 vehicles. Ceské’s telecoms subsisiary, ČD-Telematika, will undertake the upgrades. According to the company, the new kit will use the WiFi5 standard and operate on the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. This means that the new routers will be able to operate at a maximum connection speed of up to5.5Gbps and be easily upgradeable to WiFi6. Ceské Dráhy currently offers free WiFi on board its Super-City and Intercity......

DB Makes Progress With 5G Along Tracks…

(27 Feb 2024, BWCS Staff)
German national train operator, Deutsche Bahn, has launched its Gigabit Innovation Track (GINT) research project aimed at establishing 5G corridors along its rail network. The company, in conjunction with Telefónica , Ericsson and mast owner Vantage Towers, says the project will herald a new era of high-speed internet connectivity for train passengers in Germany. Back in June 2023, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (the BMDV) announced it would provide funding to the tune of euros 6.4 million to test “relevant technologies along the tracks”. Since then, the project......

Major New Poll Shows Passenger Attitudes to On-Train WiFi …

(29 Jan 2024, BWCS Staff)
Half of all train commuters in the UK, surveyed in January 2024, now believe that WiFi is essential for their journeys. The figures come from a comprehensive piece of research conducted by Uswitch.com, which interviewed over 2,000 regular rail users. Importantly, the findings seem to fly in the face of recent UK government arguments that train travellers rate WiFi low on their travel wish-lists. According to Uswitch, 41%of British commuters say they “rely on on-board WiFi” during their commutes, with nearly a third of all travellers using the service for work purposes.......

Mexican Capital Delivers Shot in the Arm to Passenger WiFi

(25 Jan 2024, BWCS Staff)
The Mexico City Government has given a major boost to WiFi on its local public transport network. Marty Batres, the head of the city administration, has announced plans to add public access hotspots on 775 trolleybuses, light rail units and in major urban transport hubs. In particular, 31 CETRAM - modal transfer centres where passengers swarm from the Metro onto buses, trolleybuses and light rail services - will be upgraded with new WiFi connections. The council pointed out that there are already 197 access points in these cross-over terminals. A further 5 CETRAMs will be targeted for free......