Title - Surf the Net in train for free now

NEW DELHI:Unlike in flights, travelling in trains will give you the added benefit of surfing the Internet, the pilot project for which was inaugurated here on the Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express on Tuesday.Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal launched the service at the New Delhi railway station after inspecting the system attached — the link with the satellite and the equipment which allows the passengers to access the Internet facility irrespective of the weather condition.Set up at a cost of Rs. 6.30 crore, the facility will be made available free of cost till details are worked out to arrive at the cost-benefit ratio. Mr. Bansal, however, said the charges would be nominal to recover the entailed cost.The service would be provided in 50 rakes during the current financial year covering the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto series of trains. The Wi-Fi service will be backed up with 2G, 3G and GPS to take care of delays and other emergencies.The Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani is operated with the help of three rakes. It underscores that about 20 trains are likely to get the facility in the current fiscal.

Mr. Bansal declined to spell out the revenue model, stressing that the effort now was to ensure that the system worked successfully and get the feedback from the users.

The objective was to extend the service to 50 rakes when the cost of providing the service would come down.