Indian trains to have cyber cafés

Indian Railways passengers will soon have access to the Internet while travelling.

RailTel Corporation, set up to modernise and make optimal use of the railway's communication infrastructure, tested the technology for providing broadband Internet on a train running between the capital's Tughlakabad station and neighbouring Faridabad town between April 15 and 26.

"With the experience of having successfully tested the wireless LAN (local area network) technology for moving connectivity and the vast optical fibre cable network, RailTel has the necessary ingredients to make this dream come true," the corporation said in a press statement Thursday.

It said the idea evolved when it was realised that RailTel would have "large spare bandwidth available at every station after meeting with the railway's operational requirements". So the plan now was to provide Internet facilities to the public on railway platforms and on board trains.

Passengers can either carry a laptop and plug it into the power socket provided next to the seat and access the Net using a prepaid RailTel card or use the Internet café on board.