Amtrak Connect Wi-Fi Expansion
Oct 31, 2011, 12:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: WAS
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Amtrak Connect Wi-Fi Expansion
As stated in an Amtrak email, Amtrak Connect Wi-Fi will be expanded to the following routes:
Northeast Regional
Ethan Allen Express
Maple Leaf
Carolinian
Vermonter
Adirondack
Keystone Service
Empire Service
Palmetto
New Haven-Springfield Shuttle
Amtrak Downeaster
Pennsylvanian
According to the Amtrak website, for now, the connection will only be available in select cars on the Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto, and Pennsylvanian, while the other listed trains will have Wi-Fi available in all cars.
I am quite pleased, as I found this to be a great service, and it's free.
Northeast Regional
Ethan Allen Express
Maple Leaf
Carolinian
Vermonter
Adirondack
Keystone Service
Empire Service
Palmetto
New Haven-Springfield Shuttle
Amtrak Downeaster
Pennsylvanian
According to the Amtrak website, for now, the connection will only be available in select cars on the Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Palmetto, and Pennsylvanian, while the other listed trains will have Wi-Fi available in all cars.
I am quite pleased, as I found this to be a great service, and it's free.
Oct 31, 2011, 3:57 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: Amtrak Select
Posts: 333
In contrast, I traveled southbound on the 93 this past Thursday and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the amtrak connect service available. It was quite snappy - but this was before they had any signs advertising it on board. When I traveled back north on the 2152 on Friday, I was unable to use the wifi as it was so slow. So either they have upgraded their service on the regionals compared to the acela, or it is a capacity issue on the acela.
Oct 31, 2011, 4:11 pm
#4
Original Poster
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I have only used it on the Cascades, and the speed was acceptable, so the lack of speed may be an Acela-specific problem. I would imagine one cause being that more Acela customers carry Wi-Fi enabled devices than your regular Amtrak customers, so the system must deal with more connections.
Oct 31, 2011, 5:30 pm
#5
Ambassador, New England
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maineiac, USA
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At least on the Downeaster, the Wi-Fi is based on cell signals, so if the Acela passes through areas that have poor cell reception, that perhaps explains the slow/spotty service. There are plenty of areas in ME/NH/Northern MA that the Wi-Fi does not work well on the Downeaster, then there are others where it is great.
Is Amtrak Connect different/better than the previous Wi-Fi that was available on the Downeaster?
Is Amtrak Connect different/better than the previous Wi-Fi that was available on the Downeaster?
Oct 31, 2011, 9:22 pm
#7
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I assume equipping Superliners with Wi-Fi capability is more expensive than doing it to their Amfleet counterparts, so I doubt we will see Amtrak Connect on routes such as the Empire Builder anytime soon.
Nov 1, 2011, 5:35 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: Amtrak Select
Posts: 333
At least on the Downeaster, the Wi-Fi is based on cell signals, so if the Acela passes through areas that have poor cell reception, that perhaps explains the slow/spotty service. There are plenty of areas in ME/NH/Northern MA that the Wi-Fi does not work well on the Downeaster, then there are others where it is great.
Is Amtrak Connect different/better than the previous Wi-Fi that was available on the Downeaster?
Is Amtrak Connect different/better than the previous Wi-Fi that was available on the Downeaster?
Nov 3, 2011, 11:53 am
#10
Company Representative - Amtrak
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (Select Executive)
Posts: 528
A quick note about AmtrakConnect
We acknowledge the speeds can be improved. With 1/3 of the train using the system at any give time (which equates to around 100 people at any one time) it is quite a challenge to supply enough bandwidth. Although 4G speeds are becoming more prevalent, theyre not nearly widespread enough, especially for a train which can travel outside of large population area. One of our number one focuses this year is on enhancing the bandwidth on Acela to better speeds and bandwidth. Were currently in conversations with all of the wireless carriers who support our service. For more information about AmtrakConnect, please visit: http://bit.ly/jRDfrf
Becky Parks,
Senior Marketing Officer, Amtrak Guest Rewards
We acknowledge the speeds can be improved. With 1/3 of the train using the system at any give time (which equates to around 100 people at any one time) it is quite a challenge to supply enough bandwidth. Although 4G speeds are becoming more prevalent, theyre not nearly widespread enough, especially for a train which can travel outside of large population area. One of our number one focuses this year is on enhancing the bandwidth on Acela to better speeds and bandwidth. Were currently in conversations with all of the wireless carriers who support our service. For more information about AmtrakConnect, please visit: http://bit.ly/jRDfrf
Becky Parks,
Senior Marketing Officer, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Nov 8, 2011, 7:32 am
#11
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Posts: 4,387
I'm glad Amtrak is looking into this.
I was on 88 this past Sunday NYP-NHV. The WiFi was absolutely useless. Some Web pages took 10 minutes to load. My Apple Mail timed out frequently.
I was on 88 this past Sunday NYP-NHV. The WiFi was absolutely useless. Some Web pages took 10 minutes to load. My Apple Mail timed out frequently.
Nov 8, 2011, 9:34 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ
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It's like winning a jackpot without knowing that the jackpot is only worth a couple of cents. Excitement lasts as long as you don't know the real worth!
