Wi-Fi boards Canadian trains

09.03.2006
Travellers aboard VIA Rail's Quebec City-Windsor corridor route will now have more than scenery and solitaire to keep them occupied as Canada's national passenger rail service has introduced Wi-Fi access to its trains.

All that is needed to access the network is a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a laptop or PDA. These devices automatically detect the network and, once login is complete, users are able to surf the Internet, check e-mails or enter their company's corporate network as if they were at home or at the office, said Keith Dunbar vice-president of Parsons Corp., an engineering firm from Pasedena, Calif. and the firm that VIA Rail partnered with to provide the wireless infrastructure.

'Each car of the train acts as a moving hotspot,' said Dunbar. He added that a server is installed in the front car of the train that is then linked to the hotspots in the other cars.

Dunbar said a total of 160 cars along the corridor will be equipped with access points.

Parsons Corp. used wireless technology from Ottawa-based PointShot Wireless for the on-train communications hardware and connectivity management. Opti-Fi Networks Ltd., a subsidiary of Parsons, provided the Wi-Fi access service.

In addition to the trains, 22 stations along the corridor will be equipped with hotspots. Seven Panorama Lounges (waiting area for first class passengers) at train stations in Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City will also offer the Wi-Fi service.