WiFi

I agree - it would be excellent to see this on the long cross-country routes, like the California Zephyr! One of the big barriers most people have to riding the rails is the time it takes. With wi-fi on board, they would see opportunities for using that time profitably--they could telecommute. (Not that there aren't a billion and one unplugged things one can do on a train, but I doubt a high-powered CEO will consider sock-knitting or journal-writing as profitable use of her or his transit time.)

I wonder whether it would be feasible for Amtrak trains to also provide cell phone repeaters? The dead zones on the cross-country routes are possibly another turn-off to higher ridership.

I believe part of the WiFi program is to provide better cell phone reception... During the meeting the other day, there was mention of this. It uses/can use some of the same technology, so perhaps we could see cell phone reception improve in sparse areas!

That's great news! Thanks for passing that along!

We just did three long-distance trips in two weeks: California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Coast Starlight. One of the reasons we upgraded our cellphones to iPhones was to use the map/GPS program on these trips. Our dismay was the lack of internet service. We had to purchase an atlas for the last two legs of our trip.

Amtrak California has announced that free WiFi is coming soon to Pacific Surfliner Business Class. No login or fees will be involved.