I have to spend 6 hours on the train today and just to be on the safe side I checked their website to see what the arrangements are for connecting to the net while on the train, free or pay. I cannot believe what I discovered in their FAQ’s on their website.
Q. Is there Wi-Fi technology onboard IÉ trains so I can access the internet?
A. Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) feels that it wouldn’t be in the public or the company’s best interest to install the current wireless technologies on its fleet for customer use due to the limited lifespan of said technologies. Anything we install now is likely to be completely redundant within five years.
We feel customers would be better supported by obtaining their own wireless solutions, such as those provided by the mobile providers 3G & GPRS/EDGE.
IÉ is hoping that near-future new technologies such as WiMax and other long range wireless tech will make the idea of onboard solutions redundant. We will continue to monitor the speed of advance of such technologies and if we deem that change is not occurring quickly enough we may reconsider the situation.
1 Comment
November 11, 2009 at 11:55
You might have missed that Irish Rail are currently preparing a 6-month wifi trail on the Cork-Dublin route. Based on the results of this trail they will decide if wifi access will be rolled out on other routes also. You’ll find more about this on my blog: http://evertb.wordpress.com/ (search for “irish rail”)