Silicon Valley to get US' first Wi-Fi train

Commuter computing

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in Wireless, 27th August 2003 10:51 GMT

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Travellers on Silicon Valley's Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) rail service will be able to hook their Wi-Fi enabled notebook PCs and PDAs to the Internet next month when each train will be fitted with WLAN base-stations.

The service will be offered free of charge for the next three months while ACE officials measure the level of demand among commuters, the Associated Press reports. ACE runs between Stockton and San Jose, and ferries around 1300 passengers a day.

News of the ACE trial run came via the rail company's Wi-Fi provider, Canada's PointShot Wireless. PointShot also said that another line, which runs between Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose is planning a Wi-Fi service of its own.

The upcoming US services follow the roll-out of Wi-Fi trains between Montreal and Toronto, and between Gottenburg and Copenhagen. Trains serving Oslo-Karlstad-Stockholm are scheduled to be equipped with WLANs later this year, as are high-speed services running between Scotland and London down the UK's east coast line. Virgin Trains is planning a similar service between London and the Midlands. ®