Commuters and visitors can enjoy unlimited high-speed internet at Chennai Central without any restriction on data usage.
With 99 access points, there is hardly any corner of the iconic building that does not have internet coverage.
The original plan of providing free internet for just 30 minutes has now been revised and people can browse the internet on their smartphones without break for a day.
For passengers waiting at the Central station for long hours to board express trains that are passing through, they can keep a tab on their train position or even download high-definition videos and watch news capsules through live streaming, Southern Railway officials say.
“The installed capacity of the Railwire-Google free wi-fi system is 1 GBPS and it is enough to handle the data demand from any number of passengers at a given time,” said railway sources. Railwire is the retail broadband network of Railtel.
While some commuters at Chennai Central were not aware of the facility, others boarding passenger trains from here to locations like Arakkonam said the difference in speed could be clearly felt.
‘Easy to log in’
“There were free internet services earlier too, but it was difficult to even log in. The new network is easy to log in. I started browsing the net in less than a minute,” said R. Thangam, a fourth-year engineering student and a resident of Tiruttani.
However, Ashfaq Ahmed, a resident of the city and working in Bengaluru, said there were some issues with the speed in the new facility , but overall it was much better than the earlier network.
For a larger population to benefit, the Southern Railway should have more display boards about the availability of the wi-fi facility.
There are only a few posters near mobile phone charging stations in the concourse.
The giant LED screens and television screens could display a simple, step-by-step guide for people to log into the system with ease, said commuters.
