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Amtrak to roll out Wi-Fi on Midwest corridor trains
If traffic is crawling on I-55, then please explain why I am always passing Amtrak while getting passed by everybody else? Remember that 110 MPH is good for only a few miles. Then it right back down to freight train speeds for the rest of the trip. If Amtrak was logical about increasing the speed, it would have done something about the mess between Chicago and Joliet on the north, St Louis to Alton on the south. But, there are no bragging rights in that and bragging rights along with fantasy is all this is really about.
As for WiFi, Amtrak is behind the times. WiMax is the way to go. Much faster and more stable. As always, a decade behind. That is government welfare railroading at its best.
What is wrong with looking out the windows in Illinois. At 110 MPH, you can watch the traffic crawl at 70-75 on I-55.
Seriously, this is a good move that will attract ridership. Just don’t eliminate the windows because SOME of us still use them.!
Having taken many trips between Springfield and Chicago, I can assure that flat landscapes, corn fields, barren cornfields and snow-covered cornfields get old after the second trip. I remember having coffee with my wife or a business companion much more than looking out the window. I’m glad that wi fi is being installed.
Long overdue. Inexpensive to maintain past initial cost and is another lure to snag riders who wish to be productive (45+) or entertained (
Too bad the passengers aren’t interested in looking out the windows, kids especially.
If you’ve seen one corn stalk, you’ve seen 'em all.
Still not on the City of New Orleans?
I guess I am saying that Wi-Fi , etc., shouldn’t be allowed on trains like the “Empire Builder”. Miss the Bald eagles on the Mississippi? Cool ‘Fracking Rigs’ (our saviors) in North Dakota? Pronghorns, elk, and Mountain goats in Montana? The Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, and the Columbia River valley? Why don’t you fly, next time, and see the clouds, or drive, if you are into cornstalks?
Guse: if you are passing an Amtraker, you are speeding and should be incarcerated. Youse got WiMax in your over-loaded rig? Also, what’s a cornstalk? Was that a leftover of ethanol production, whist the poor cows starve? We, in Montana, don’t feed our cows corn. They get barley. The New Yorkers get the horrible corn-fed beef, and really pay for it! Love it!
Wow! Such negativity from the peanut gallery. So Amtrak will offer WiFi. If you don’t like it don’t use it. If you need to then do.
oh yea its free for some routes
coool. how much does it cost?
This was an excellent decision. Free Wi-Fi on Amtrak corridor trains has become less of an amenity and more of an essential service, especially for business travelers.
Amtrak’s ability to provide more productive travel time, at least compared to flying or driving, represents one of its chief competitive advantages.
The increases in ridership that result from providing this service should make it a worthwhile investment.
This was an excellent decision. Free Wi-Fi on Amtrak corridor trains has become less of an amenity and more of an essential service, especially for business travelers.
Amtrak’s ability to provide more productive travel time, at least compared to flying or driving, represents one of its chief competitive advantages.
The increases in ridership that result from providing this service should make it a worthwhile investment.
@JEFFERY GUSE - WiMax? Seriously? This again?
Not only are WiMax and Wifi designed for entirely different purposes (Word to the wise: WiMax is a competitor to LTE, not WiFi), but WiMax is being phased out by Sprint and ClearWire, the only major companies in the US who were planning to use it.
Amtrak couldn’t deploy WiMax if it wanted to. It would need to obtain cellular spectrum from the FCC (at great cost) and then establish a network of fixed antennas along the route. Meanwhile, who would use it? Virtually all laptops, tablets, and smartphones made in the last ten years come with Wifi built in - few if any have WiMax.
I’m struggling to understand the confusion of concepts that would have you arguing that Amtrak should deploy an obsolete poorly supported cellular data technology instead of a completely unrelated, extremely popular, current, and well supported cordless data system.
Probably the same, I guess, as the confusion of ideas that would lead you to think buses are a reasonable alternative to trains.
Well, here’s hoping that the day’s fast coming for 100 per cent of Amtrak’s passengers get wi-fi service.
Finally!
I ride the 30X series, (also 21,22,321,322,421,422) frequently between STL and CHI. First, 110 mph is false advertising, on four recent trips through the 110 zone (17 miles in 12 minutes from Pontiac to Dwight, IL), we were doing 20 to pass opposing traffic. Even the opposing Amtrak trains were not moving very fast. Ok, WiFi, on the trains were it’s available, it’s slow and forget live streaming. Remember the airlines use Satellitle, not cell service (look at the big round dome on the top rear of Southwest 737s). WiFi is great but offer at a small charge, upgraded service. I don’t mind paying $9.95 for true high speed internet at 4G data transfer, and free if I just want to check email.
As usual, the Goose speaks through his sphincter