Britain's beleaguered railways are doing their bit to bring broadband services to the nation.

Railtrack - the outfit that maintains tracks and stations across the country - is to install 30 broadband kiosks in 14 stations so that travellers can while away the time when their train is late.

Brighton-based Kiosk outfit - Webpoint - which has won the contract to install the kiosks reckons this will put broadband in the hands of "millions of travellers and professionals" giving them a feel for what broadband can deliver.

Maybe.

Anyhow, the kiosks will cost punters 50p for five minutes - or £1 for 15-minutes - and will be installed in major stations in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds.

That's if you can get to them, of course. We reckon once they're up there'll be a queue a mile long stuffed full of eager students trying to get access to broadband to help them in their studies.

Oh, in light of Railtrack's announcement, does this mean that we can expect BT to embark on the first major build of a new railway network in the UK since the 1880s? ®

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