RailTel Corporation of India, a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, said that it has partnered with Google to set up a high-speed Wi-Fi network at 400 stations across the country.
As a part of this engagement, Mumbai Central is the first station where the Wi-Fi design prototype is being set up and validated and is expected ready for public use by mid October, RailTel said in a statement.
The Wi-Fi will be free for first 30 minutes over a 24 hour period. The Wi-Fi will be a high-speed network capable of delivering HD video streaming services and passengers will be able to download a movie in 4 minutes before they embark on long journeys, it added.
“Railway stations being places of human aggregation of all sections of society are ideal places to bridge the digital divide. With high penetration of smartphones, the station Wi-Fi could become locations where people can get initiated into experiencing broadband and digital literacy,” said A. Seshagiri Rao, Director/ Network Planning and Marketing of RailTel.
The availability of high-speed connectivity can also spur the vendors in the Railway stations to offer new services and also create the possibility of building an IOT (Internet of Things) ecosystem in the Railway station paving the way for Railways to automate operations like monitoring of rolling stock, efficient use of electrical lighting systems etc., the statement added.
The map shows the first 100 stations that will have high-speed Wi-Fi by the end of 2016. Photo: Google Asia-Pacific Blog 
