Monday, October 20, 2008

MBTA to expand Wi-Fi on commuter rail system

The MBTA's Board of Directors has unanimously approved a plan to expand Wi-Fi service to all lines of its commuter rail system.

The MBTA started a pilot program in January, when it equipped several coaches on the Worcester line with Wi-Fi. Because of the positive feedback from that program, the board authorized $1.39 million to install Wi-Fi equipment on 258 coaches on the various lines of the commuter rail system.

The plan calls for every trip on every line of the commute rail to have at least one Wi-Fi-ready coach. Installation of the equipment is scheduled to begin in December, with the service being installed on about 30 coaches per month until the project is completed.

After this round of Wi-Fi equipment is installed and in use, MBTA officials will evaluate whether to equip the rest of the coaches with the service.

For more information on the MBTA and its services, click here.