Mumbai travelers log on as Google starts train station WiFi

“When I proposed the full-fledged (Railway) budget a year ago, I had vowed to improve ailing condition of Indian Railway, and launching free Wi-Fi at Mumbai Central Station is one giant step towards improving the Railway”, Prabhu said while addressing the gathering comprising senior railway officers, Google executives and passengers at the suburban railway station.

Created to offer users the best Internet experience, RailWire Wi-Fi will be available to any user who has a working mobile connection on a smartphone. Both, Free Basis and Google’s wifi project were discussed at the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited USA with an agenda for its Digital India initiative. RailTel’s fiber-optic infrastructure covers over 26,000 miles of railway track, and the company plans on growing that to cover 33,000 miles of track.

Google, in collaboration with RailTel, has launched a high-speed, free Wi-Fi service for Mumbai Central Railway Station. Users will then be shown a checkmark, which confirms they are connected to the free Wi-Fi.

With Railwire Wi-Fi service, the travelers will be able to easily stream high definition video while they are waiting.

1- Go to Wi-Fi Settings on your mobile and turn it on.

Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director, Google South East Asia and India, said at the launch, “We’re delighted to launch India’s first high speed public Wi-Fi service in partnership with Indian Railways”. By end of this year over 10 million people will be able to enjoy this experience at 100 stations spread across the country. After Mumbai, Google will start Wi-Fi in the cities of Allahabad, Jaipur, Patna and Ranchi next.

“Our intent was to fulfill Indian Railway’s vision of providing Railway passengers access to high-speed Internet through our Optical fiber communication network”, said RK Bahuguna, chairman and managing director, RailTel. Google says users of its public Wi-Fi service can save videos offline on its YouTube app for viewing during the journey. “The network is built for wide coverage and high-capacity usage unlike a typical Wi-Fi hotspot which offers connectivity in limited area and poor experience”.

Giggling groups of students, bored commuters and snack-shop vendors were all logging on Friday at Mumbai Central Train Station, the first of 400 stations the company plans to eventually reach with the service.