Metra announced plans today to test Wi-Fi service on 10 railcars across its system. The commuter railroad company is looking into rolling out free Internet access on all of its lines in a move that should help bring it into the 21st century. The six-month pilot program aims to figure out how feasible Wi-Fi on the trains would be and to work out any kinks with a systemwide rollout. If it works, thousands of suburban commuters would lose the "I'm on the train" excuse when bombarded with work requests en route to the office. Wi-Fi access will be available on the 10 test railcars before the end of the year.
“We have explored several ways to provide free Wi-Fi on Metra trains and are committed to doing all we can to get this done for our customers,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno in a statement.
Metra is looking to bring Internet access to more than just its trains, though. In the next 45 days, they'll be completing installation of charging stations and free Wi-Fi in the waiting areas of all five of its downtown stations.
If we can have Internet on airplanes, one would think we should be able to have it on trains. The next frontier: cabs.