Wi-Fi on Eastern LD Trains

[Anderson]

Well, the Western trains will also be a spotty proposition if only because most of the trains have large areas where wifi just ain't gonna happen (the Rockies, Vandenberg, and probably some chunks of West Texas come to mind). East of CHI you really only have the New River Gorge and some parts of PGH-CUM where wifi is going to be a bust (and there you just disclaimer the heck out of things much like you do on a few other routes or like VIA does on the Corridor).

 

[neroden]

Regarding the Heritage dining cars not being WiFi-equipped, I'm guessing the Silver Star, now running without a dining car at all, will get WiFi first. By September I would hope that the Viewliner dining cars will finally be rolling off the line and the other trains can have WiFi deployed as they show up... after all, with 8400 already running (and presumably in line to be retrofitted), you only need two more to supply the LSL, etc...

 

[WoodyinNYC]

...

By September I would hope that the Viewliner dining cars will finally be rolling off the line ...

I'm with Lily Tomlin on this: "No matter how cynical I become, I just can't keep up."

If we get any new diners in service by 2016, calendar year, not FY, I'll be happy. LOL.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Quick update: Enough Amfleet II coaches have been equipped that all mixed consist trains (Amfleet I and II) now offer WiFi throughout. This includes the Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto and Pennsylvanian.

On the brain car side, installations have begun on the Amfleet II Lounge cars. You'll see the new antennas on top of the non-vestibule end of the lounge cars. Should see the first car or two rotating back into consists in a few weeks. I imagine the service will be on and working, albeit unadvertised. Get it while no one else knows and hog all the bandwidth for yourself!

Installs have also begun in the sleepers. Haven't heard anything about the Heritage diners, but my gut says they aren't getting WiFi.

 

[jis]

That is very good news indeed!

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Quick update: Enough Amfleet II coaches have been equipped that all mixed consist trains (Amfleet I and II) now offer WiFi throughout. This includes the Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto and Pennsylvanian.

On the brain car side, installations have begun on the Amfleet II Lounge cars. You'll see the new antennas on top of the non-vestibule end of the lounge cars. Should see the first car or two rotating back into consists in a few weeks.

I imagine the service will be on and working, albeit unadvertised. Get it while no one else knows and hog all the bandwidth for yourself!

...

Thanks for this update, and for this entire good news thread that you've moved along with solid info.

However, I doubt there's much chance of beating the crowd to use the unannounced Wi-Fi. After all, the Adirondack serves the State University of New York-New Paltz, SUNY-Albany, and SUNY-Plattsburgh (near Canada). Once one of these students figures out that the Wi-Fi is working, the students from Plattsburgh down to the Savannah College of Art and Design will be connecting. And that's all good.

 

[neroden]

Well, the Western trains will also be a spotty proposition if only because most of the trains have large areas where wifi just ain't gonna happen (the Rockies, Vandenberg, and probably some chunks of West Texas come to mind). East of CHI you really only have the New River Gorge and some parts of PGH-CUM where wifi is going to be a bust (and there you just disclaimer the heck out of things much like you do on a few other routes or like VIA does on the Corridor).

Yeah, there might be some short dropouts elsewhere, but looking at it there really is WiFi almost everywhere else on the Eastern routes. I expect the sudden disappearance of WiFi at the Canadian border (because I bet Amtrak doesn't have a Canadian roaming contract) will be noticed, however!

 

[SubwayNut]

The Adirondack already has had wifi since it was a mixed consist train. I've used it over the past few years.

 

[jis]

If Amtrak wished they could just get a contract from a Canadian provider in Canada. No reason to have roaming anything.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Almost 80 coaches are now equipped along with six Viewliner sleepers and one lounge "brain" car.

 

[jebr]

Thanks for the update! Any idea if they've been rolled out on specific long-distance routes yet?

 

[jphjaxfl]

I was on the Silver Star on Saturday. I had my mi-fy, but Amtrak Connect connect was an option. The connection was not as good as the mi-fy, but it was there.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Thanks for the update! Any idea if they've been rolled out on specific long-distance routes yet?

Nothing is officially rolled out. Most eastern LD trains probably have at least one WiFi coach in the consist, but they don't work without the associated lounge car containing all the cellular antennas and routers. The only equipped lounge deadheaded to NYP a couple days ago. I would expect it'll end up in going somewhere in revenue service soon.

 

[Ryan]

My random number generator keeps producing 50/51 for some reason.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Looks like the WiFi lounge is in service on 50(15). Progress!

 

[zephyr17]

The Adirondack already has had wifi since it was a mixed consist train. I've used it over the past few years.

It wasn't in the Amfleet II cars, if you got it in an Amfleet II, it was bleed over from the Amfleet Is or cafe. Last time I took it, they stuffed all the MTR-NYP passengers in the Amfleet Is, and the explanation I got is that people going to New York would want wifi over legroom.

The wifi is pretty useless much north of Schenectady in any case.

 

[PVD]

Part of the triip North is in an area notorious for poor cell phone coverage. North of Lake George almost to Plattsburgh is pretty much no cell on I-87 in a car. Getting off and driving towards LP you can go 2/3 of the way with little or no coverage. They dont want towers built all over the Adirondack Park land, and the terrain is very limiting for building mount coverage distances. The train has the same issues.

 

[ronkstevens]

Nothing is officially rolled out. Most eastern LD trains probably have at least one WiFi coach in the consist, but they don't work without the associated lounge car containing all the cellular antennas and routers.

How does the WiFi work on Keystone trains, that have no lounge/cafe car?

 

[Thirdrail7]

Nothing is officially rolled out. Most eastern LD trains probably have at least one WiFi coach in the consist, but they don't work without the associated lounge car containing all the cellular antennas and routers.

How does the WiFi work on Keystone trains, that have no lounge/cafe car?

The cab car is the brain car on the Keystones.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Almost 80 coaches are now equipped along with six Viewliner sleepers and one lounge "brain" car.

The numbers have swelled to 99 and 16.

 

[afigg]

Almost 80 coaches are now equipped along with six Viewliner sleepers and one lounge "brain" car.

The numbers have swelled to 99 and 16.

Is that 99 Amfleet II coach cars and 16 Viewliner I sleeper cars have been equipped with WiFi? Will be of limited utility until the Amfleet II diner/cafe lounge cars have been upgraded with hubs and cellular antennas.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Almost 80 coaches are now equipped along with six Viewliner sleepers and one lounge "brain" car.

The numbers have swelled to 99 and 16.

Is that 99 Amfleet II coach cars and 16 Viewliner I sleeper cars have been equipped with WiFi? Will be of limited utility until the Amfleet II diner/cafe lounge cars have been upgraded with hubs and cellular antennas.

Actually, it is extremely valuable. If you recall, 42,43,63,64,68,68,89 and 90 are trains that have wifi. That's a good amount of AM-2s in need of wifi. The more cars that have it the better whether or not they are used in the over night long distance trains. This allows the cars to swapped if necessary. You no longer have to hold cars to make sure that you have a wifi equipped replacement if necessary.

Additionally, if things get tight on the AM-1 side, you may now go back to the practice of subbing an AM-2 for a Capstone business class or even a coach if you need to. This is because they are now wifi compatible and will work with the rest of the AM-1 set.

Little things like this make all the difference in the world when there is a disruption or a deviation.

 

[Anderson]

And the head of Amtrak marketing spoke to NARP today. About the only thing useful he said* was that the Eastern LD trains should have wifi by January 2016 or thereabouts.

*There was a lot of canned speech and blind boosterism of the new AGR program, along with virtually every question not on the Eastern wifi being answered with "I don't know".

 

[neroden]

Oh, I think I just figured out the logistical decision here.

They want to continue to use the Amfleet II coaches as an interchangeable pool, and likewise they want to continue to use the Viewliner I sleepers as an interchangable pool.

Therefore, in order to make even one long-distance train have WiFi, they want to equip the *entire pool* of cars first because it might use any car in the pool.

After all the non-brain cars are equipped, they will do the brain cars -- they can then start advertising a train as having WiFi when there are enough brain cars for its consists alone. They've done one lounge car just to figure out how to do it and work out the bugs, but they're going to do the others after the entire pools of coaches and sleepers are done.

 

[afigg]

After all the non-brain cars are equipped, they will do the brain cars -- they can then start advertising a train as having WiFi when there are enough brain cars for its consists alone. They've done one lounge car just to figure out how to do it and work out the bugs, but they're going to do the others after the entire pools of coaches and sleepers are done.

That makes sense as a sequence to install WiFi. Although I wonder how well the Viewliner I sleeper cars WiFi will work if there is a Heritage diner car without WiFi between the sleeper cars and the Amfleet II diner/cafe car with the hub.
There is WiFi news for the eastern LD trains today. Amtrak issued a press release announcing that Free Wi-Fi Now Available On Auto Train. So the AT Superliner cars have been upgraded. The press release previews the roll-out of WiFi to the single level LD trains.

Most of the press release:

WASHINGTON AmtrakConnect® cellular-based Wi-Fi service is now available to all passengers on Auto Train as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the passenger experience. Auto Train allows passengers to travel with their personal vehicles including cars, vans, SUVs and motorcycles between the Washington, D.C. area and Florida, and stands as the first long-distance Amtrak train to provide Wi-Fi.

This marks the first phase of a larger Amtrak rollout that will provide passengers with free Wi-Fi on all single-level, long-distance train routes in 2016. Combined with other routes where Amtrak has already activated the service, more than 90 percent of Amtrak passengers will soon have access to on-board Wi-Fi so that they may stay connected and entertained throughout their journey.

This new amenity marks an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to improving the passenger experience, said Mark Murphy, Senior Vice President and General Manager Long Distance. The availability of Wi-Fi provides the connectivity passengers expect while traveling and demonstrates yet another reason why Amtrak is a smarter way to travel.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, Amtrak is offering its passengers a special $95 Saver Fare aboard Auto Train.

Wi-Fi service will be provided on these long-distance train routes in 2016:

Cardinal: New York Washington, D.C. Cincinnati Indianapolis Chicago

Crescent: New York Atlanta New Orleans

Lake Shore Limited: New York/Boston Albany Chicago

Silver Service: New York Washington, D.C. Charleston Savannah Jacksonville Orlando Tampa/Miami