WiFi on Amtrak

[BCL]

I would add that the times we were at NY Penn Station, the Amtrak WiFi was fast and reliable. Also, there didn't seem to be any blanket restriction on streaming video. I just checked my phone, and it auto connected when it saw the AmtrakConnect SSID. However, that was a ground based Internet source.

 

[cassie225]

Using Hulu and Netflix, so it prob was on cellular,but since I have unlimited data I didn't go over my monthly allotment.So if I had been able to use a hotspot with my tablet I would have been able to stream. This is really a lightbulb moment for me. Yeah I'm kinda slow.lol

 

[jebr]

It's an amenity Amtrak offers to compete against other transportation providers. Most bus carriers on the NEC offer free wi-fi, so offering free wi-fi is a way for them to not lose as many of those customers. Frankly, if Amtrak didn't offer free wi-fi I would expect to see a fair amount of defections to bus services, as it would become a "wifi vs. speed" question between the bus carriers and Amtrak. Right now it's a "pay a bit more to get there faster and more comfortably" question...Amtrak shouldn't try and give people a reason (other than price) to choose the bus companies on the NEC.

Also, how much money would there be to be made on offering wi-fi? Most people who need connectivity have a cellular hotspot already, and since Amtrak travels on the ground cellular connection would be available for most of the trip (at least as far as I'm aware.) Thus, Amtrak would need to offer either a better product than LTE (which would be difficult on any sort of shared connection) or price it cheaper than LTE. Current overage costs on many plans are about $10-$15/GB, so unless someone is really pushing the connection I don't see more than a gigabyte being used on most NEC journeys. Thus, whoever would provide it would have to price it at or below that in order for people to defect from their LTE connection to AmtrakConnect. I don't see there being much profit margin there; I highly doubt there'd be enough for a private investor to want to take on the risk of wiring all trains for wi-fi and putting their own backhaul in (which is not cheap.)

Also, satellite broadband would be a terrible idea for the NEC. Bandwidth is extremely constrained, the cost of bandwidth is similar, and it has much higher latency (so everything feels slower.) Satellite internet would also require a constant re-tuning of the dish, which probably wouldn't be difficult but may cause some intermittent dropping moving from satellite to satellite. Cellular is a much better option, and if they could create their own network along the NEC the network would be orders of magnitude better than any current satellite connection.

 

[Guest]

Trains would not even have to be wired. Services will just extend the existing Wireless networks and improve coverage for Amtrak customers. Costs for backhaul for this are negligible considering much of it is covered well from AT&T and Verizon. Also one has to assume there are dark fiber assets that have not been lit in some of those areas. Rolling a spool of corning or other fiber cables and the like for areas where no fiber exists (lots of fiber providers explicitly use railroad rights of way and there must be an immense amount of fiber in place already) is neglibile. Your comments are wrong and it isn't hard for carriers to do. Carriers are lighting up subways in Urban NYC and it seems likely that for Amtrak they will be able to remove dead spots easily especially in the north eastern corridor as well as much if not all of the existing Amtrak network over time.

Satellite broadband used to be bad but due to emerging technologies and lower orbits, latency has decreased and speeds are extremely fast. You can get as fast as wired technologies via satellite on the downstream and upstream. Latency is a factor of orbit and placement but it has gotten better. This would require satellite dish equipment on the train and a conversion of signal to wifi and possibly seatback tvs could be installed as well. This provides advertising revenue and other avenues of income production for Amtrak as well.

 

[Peter KG6LSE]

keep in mind that ARROW looks like 80s PC ..and they just started to do paperless tix a few years back with the iPhones

I am amazed the WIFI onboard is not done with a ham radio set with some dude on a morse key pounding the dits and dahs: rolls eyes:

( I am a HAM ) .....

The issue is money ... If we cant get stable dining onboard .WiFi can wait.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I was on a train and it had a Wi-Fi meter. It tells you how many devices are connected. I suppose that explains the bad speed in advance?

 

[DoB]

Latching onto this thread -

Various websites state that the Coast Starlight has Wi-Fi in the Pacific Parlor Car, and that Wi-Fi is also available in the Portland Metropolitan Lounge. But Amtrak.com doesn't list either. Can anyone confirm that these Wi-Fi services are still available?

 

[George K]

As of last September, there was no WiFi in the PDX Met Lounge.

 

[TinCan782]

Last July, the Coast Starlight did have WiFi in the PPC. Most of the time, I just left my phone to use its own wireless connection either in my room or in the PPC.

 

[DoB]

Thanks. I pay per MB for cellular data, and I'm planning to use a laptop, so tethering gets pretty pricey. If I can stay connected in the PPC, I'm satisfied - I don't need a particularly fast connection.

I wonder why the Met Lounge would have dropped Wi-Fi.

 

[DoB]

FYI - the Portland Met Lounge has functional (and reasonably fast) Wi-Fi, or at least it did an hour ago. We'll see about the train...

 

[reppin_the_847]

The WiFi is hit or miss on the Wolverine trains between Chicago & Michigan. As others pointed out, it all depends on how many folks are using it at the same time. I think they should continue to offer the free service, but perhaps also offer a speedier equivalent for a nominal charge (a faster connection more akin to what the airlines offer).

 

[CHamilton]

Onboard wifi will eventually need to work like the service on airplanes, but AFAIK, that's not in the works anytime soon.

 

[jis]

Don't know if this is wifi or not but on my trip from Newark to NO I was able to stream Hulu and Neflix from Charlottesville all the way to NO.

That was your own data connection. Amtrak WiFi blocks all streaming service, and that would include Hulu and Netflix.

 

[DoB]

FYI - the Portland Met Lounge has functional (and reasonably fast) Wi-Fi, or at least it did an hour ago. We'll see about the train...

On 11 now, and the PPC Wi-Fi is working, although it's quite sluggish.

 

[BCL]

Don't know if this is wifi or not but on my trip from Newark to NO I was able to stream Hulu and Neflix from Charlottesville all the way to NO.

That was your own data connection. Amtrak WiFi blocks all streaming service, and that would include Hulu and Netflix.

I've had some issues. Of course I seem to get notices of iOS upgrades while logged into AmtrakConnect on Capitol Corridor, but it always times out if I try to apply an update. I also noticed recently that I was able to check one small YouTube video when previously nothing would happen. I've been on news site webpages that have embedded video and seen a message that Amtrak is blocking the website and/or material because it uses excessive bandwidth.

I've also taken some light rail with WiFi from cellular sources. That one has no specific restriction on streaming video, but I've sometimes been frustrated when I couldn't log in. When I am in, sometimes I can view stuff like on the WatchESPN app.

 

[DoB]

I'm on the Coast Starlight now, enjoying the Wi-Fi seeping into my roomette from the PPC next door. But in the morning I'll be getting on the California Zephyr.

I wasn't expecting Wi-Fi on the CZ, but my dinner tablemate told me that she rode the CZ a few weeks ago and had Wi-Fi the whole way (in the observation car, I think she said). Was she hallucinating or can I expect more Wi-Fi on the CZ?

 

[chakk]

I think there are several canyons in Utah and Colorado where you will get no WiFi, or even a simple cellphone signal, on the CZ. Even the crew is unable to communicate with the dispatcher by any means in sections of Ruby Canyon

 

[BCL]

I think there are several canyons in Utah and Colorado where you will get no WiFi, or even a simple cellphone signal, on the CZ. Even the crew is unable to communicate with the dispatcher by any means in sections of Ruby Canyon

I learned the phrase "dark territory" from an otherwise forgettable Seagal movie.

 

[R30A]

It is possible that Superliner equipment equipped with Wifi for California or Midwest corridor assignments will show up on the Zephyr, which would give you wifi. Otherwise it is unlikely to be there.

 

[zephyr17]

I'm on the Coast Starlight now, enjoying the Wi-Fi seeping into my roomette from the PPC next door. But in the morning I'll be getting on the California Zephyr.

I wasn't expecting Wi-Fi on the CZ, but my dinner tablemate told me that she rode the CZ a few weeks ago and had Wi-Fi the whole way (in the observation car, I think she said). Was she hallucinating or can I expect more Wi-Fi on the CZ?

I think she must have been thinking about a 3G/4G/LTE wireless network connection, not WiFi. The CZ equipment doesn't have WiFi routers. Someone may have set up a cellphone WiFi teather that was open, though.

Bottom line. Do not expect WiFi on the CZ.