Project to provide Wi-Fi services in trains dropped, says Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the railways has "dropped" a project to provide internet connection in trains because it was not cost effective.

As a pilot project, Wi-Fi based internet facility was provided in the Howrah Rajdhani Express train through satellite communication technology. "This technology was capital intensive with recurring costs in the form of bandwidth charges and thus, was not cost effective. Also, the internet bandwidth availability to passengers was inadequate," the Minister said in written reply in Lok Sabha.

Also Read | Free Wi-fi now available at 6,000 railway stations across India

"Hence, the project was dropped. At present, suitable cost effective technology for provision of Wi-Fi based internet services in trains is not available," he said.

At present Wi-Fi facility is being provided by the Indian Railways at more than 6,000 stations on a self-sustainable basis with no cost to the national transporter.