Bringing WiFi technology to commuter trains is set to be the main focus of this year’s Train Communications Systems Conference.
Rail firms to tackle challenges of internet connected trains
Bringing WiFi technology to commuter trains is set to be the main focus of this year’s Train Communications Systems Conference.
Train operators from all over the world will converge on St Pancras International Train Station in London in June to discuss the benefits and possibilities of internet connected trains.
“WiFi is a key weapon in the battle to get more passengers onto trains,” said Graham Wilde, chief executive of BWCS, the wireless and transport consulting company hosting the conference.
“The real value of WiFi services and, increasingly, of on-board entertainment services are not that the operator can squeeze a bit of loose change out of their passengers’ pockets, but that they can help fill empty seats.”
The conference will feature case studies by train operators that have already launched WiFi systems. These early adopters are expected to help other rail services confront the problems and barriers posed by onboard internet.
The conference will also see a wide variety of new passenger entertainment and information services based on high speed wireless train connections.
Among those due to present at the conference are Amtrak, Russian Railways, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, WestBahn, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, and China Railways.
