Wifi on Iarnrod Eireann trains?

4zn76tysfajdxp

Hey, I'm getting a train from Galway to Dublin tomorrow. Do they have wifi?

Victor

No, GSM / 3g is your best bet.

They were concerned that investing in wifi would become obsolete almost immediately, so they held off. They have now re-thought that and and offering may be forthcoming.

There will be power sockets at each seat - just make sure you press the right buttons.

b12mearse

hold your horses boy! wifi is it? oh law di daw// feckin iarnrod eireann. jaysus

4zn76tysfajdxp

Thanks Victor and mikemac.

b12mearse wrote: »

hold your horses boy! wifi is it? oh law di daw// feckin iarnrod eireann. jaysus

Yeah, I suppose it was a bit of a long shot. Horse drawn carriages will probably have wifi before them.

mikemac

Langston Nutritious Dungeon wrote: »

Thanks Victor and mikemac.

I deleted my post pretty much straight away
Victor explained it better then I did

foggy_lad

irish rail decided not to offer wifi as most peiople have mobile midband from three o2 vodafone etc but they dont say that this mobile midband does not work along most railway lines unless you are in the dublin area! there is little or no coverage in kildare county and carlow/kilkenny is dismally poor.

Ham'nd'egger

foggy_lad wrote: »

irish rail decided not to offer wifi as most peiople have mobile midband from three o2 vodafone etc but they dont say that this mobile midband does not work along most railway lines unless you are in the dublin area! there is little or no coverage in kildare county and carlow/kilkenny is dismally poor.

I must say, I used my O2 BB on a west bound train 3 months ago and I found it to generally be as fast/slow as when I am at home in Dublin.

Sponge Bob

O2 is the best bet if you travel a lot by train on business ( I mean Dublin to _somewhere_ and back) , Meteor are possibly second best by now and Voda and 3 would both be a distant third.

bk

Just to explain, wifi on the train would also use 3G to connect back to the network.

Then why have wifi on the train you might ask, well two reasons:

1) Devices with wifi but no 3g could use it like PSP, DS and laptops without a 3g connection.

2) The 3G gear would be on the roof and would likely have industrial level large aerial, so reception and performance would be far better then what you would get with a 3g dongle.

It is funny back years ago when IR first said that they weren't going to invest in wifi, because technology changes too fast, I said this was rubbish and that they clearly didn't understand the tech. Well I'm glad to have been proven correct, with wifi now popping up in all sorts of devices.

I'm glad IR might be looking to reverse this decision, it was complete madness not to have wifi on a train in this day and age, specially with all the new motorways opening, you need all the advantages you can get to compete with the car.

The other decision they need to rexamine is the lack of power points on the Cork To Dublin train (yes I know about the one at the end of the carriage). They really need to fit power points to all seats on the Cork to Dublin train.

Victor

Rail users Ireland thread: http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=4320

mayhem#

http://www.airappz.com/2010/01/airappz-invited-to-trail-wifi-on-irish-rail-trains/

JHMEG

Several of the private Dublin-Galway bus operators have wifi.

dingding

Got an internal flight in the US with Delta and the plane had wifi.

Used o2 on the sligo line and I found it OK, a lot better than 3 which was very poor between mullingar and Sligo

dazberry

I was on a Dublin - Cork train on Saturday which had Wifi. Wasn't too great either, same issues as my 3 dongle in that there are areas of poor coverage on the route.

D.

monument

foggy_lad wrote: »

irish rail decided not to offer wifi as most peiople have mobile midband from three o2 vodafone etc but they dont say that this mobile midband does not work along most railway lines unless you are in the dublin area! there is little or no coverage in kildare county and carlow/kilkenny is dismally poor.

I use the O2 3G/Edge network (tethering from and on the iPhone) on the line from Ballina to Dublin and it works on most of the line. Patchy in parts, but generally works.

You'd expect it to cut out in parts of Mayo, but like you said Kildare can also be problematic. On sections of the line used by Cork, Galway, Mayo, etc intercity trains as well as commuter services. Craziness on O2's part.

Victor

Is that down to terrain? Central Mayo being quite open and a lot of Kildare being in cuttings or among low hills.

monument

Victor wrote: »

Is that down to terrain? Central Mayo being quite open and a lot of Kildare being in cuttings or among low hills.

Could be. I'll keep a better eye out next time.

drunkmonkey

dazberry wrote: »

I was on a Dublin - Cork train on Saturday which had Wifi.

Were you in a special carriage? I was on cork/dublin on Thursday and dublin/cork tonight and I couldn't pick up any wifi network on the train.

dazberry

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Were you in a special carriage? I was on cork/dublin on Thursday and dublin/cork tonight and I couldn't pick up any wifi network on the train.

I was in the C carriage. Was in C also this afternoon on the way back but no wifi. I *think* the wireless SID was "Irish Rail", and when I connected a notice in conjunction with some company (can't remember name) explained the system was on trial.

D.

Victor

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Were you in a special carriage? I was on cork/dublin on Thursday and dublin/cork tonight and I couldn't pick up any wifi network on the train.

Its a trial and on only one train at the moment - 4008 I understand.

dazberry

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/15761/digital-life/free-wi-fi-for-irish-rail-passengers-begins-today

Free Wi-Fi for Irish rail passengers begins today
06.04.2010
Passengers taking the train between Dublin and Cork will be able to enjoy free internet access as part of a trial scheme being rolled out from today.

Iarnrod Eireann said free Wi-Fi connectivity for the intercity train between the two cities will be trialled for six months, after which a pay model will be introduced at varying rates.

Carried out in association with FleetConnect, who already supply wireless internet connectivity to several bus lines around Ireland, including Aircoach and CityLink, the Wi-Fi connectivity will tap the three major mobile broadband networks: Three, O2 and Vodafone.

D.

Chris_5339762

Why must it be a pay model? Both Citylink and Gobus have free Wifi.

Its already more expensive to take the train, why do you need to pay above and beyond this for wi-fi?

smackyB

For those interested, the following services will have WiFi according to IE on twitter. May be subject to change.

"Free wi-fi available to customers on 16.00 Heuston-Cork today, and tomorrow 07.30 Cork-Hn, 11.00 Hn-Cork, 14.30 Cork-Hn, 18.00 Hn-Cork"

dowlingm

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Why must it be a pay model? Both Citylink and Gobus have free Wifi.

Its already more expensive to take the train, why do you need to pay above and beyond this for wi-fi?

The service provider isn't giving it away, so that means IE would have to bear the cost. That makes it more expensive for those with 3G cards or who don't want to use it.

garfieldsghost

dowlingm wrote: »

The service provider isn't giving it away, so that means IE would have to bear the cost. That makes it more expensive for those with 3G cards or who don't want to use it.

There's currently a tender out for retrofitting Intercity railcars with Wifi so that their systems can be monitored remotely. It would be very simple to expand that to include internet access for passengers but it would be a complete p!sstake if they charged for the service in that instance!

dowlingm

garfieldsghost wrote: »

There's currently a tender out for retrofitting Intercity railcars with Wifi so that their systems can be monitored remotely. It would be very simple to expand that to include internet access for passengers but it would be a complete p!sstake if they charged for the service in that instance!

The fact that the tender is separate from the customer trial indicates that IE Engineering don't want their diagnostic data on the same link as someone who doesn't remember to turn off their torrent client.

garfieldsghost

dowlingm wrote: »

The fact that the tender is separate from the customer trial indicates that IE Engineering don't want their diagnostic data on the same link as someone who doesn't remember to turn off their torrent client.

They don't necessarily have to share the same link. But seeing as IE are going to be installing all the relevant infrastructure to facilitate Wifi on their trains for this purpose, it seems ridiculous to provide the customer with a third party pay-to-use service. As has already been said, several private coach operators have no problem providing free Wifi for their customers...

dowlingm

garfieldsghost wrote: »

They don't necessarily have to share the same link. But seeing as IE are going to be installing all the relevant infrastructure to facilitate Wifi on their trains for this purpose, it seems ridiculous to provide the customer with a third party pay-to-use service. As has already been said, several private coach operators have no problem providing free Wifi for their customers...

It's separate tenders. One for passengers, one for engineering. IE isn't using any of the engineering stuff to provide the passenger stuff. What part of that aren't you getting? If IE decided to give flasks of tea to their drivers and guards at stops, does that mean Railgourmet has to start giving out free sandwiches and beer? What the bus companies do is irrelevant - they have a different business model and most of the competitive focus is on what the other bus companies are doing.

The real danger for IE is not charging for wifi, it's that the wifi will be crap and not worth the money. VIA Rail Canada switched providers last year and the new service was so bad they had to give it out free. With their old provider I was happy to pay $9 for a day pass when I was doing a five hour round trip, and the wifi was available in station waiting areas as well as the train.

garfieldsghost

dowlingm wrote: »

It's separate tenders. One for passengers, one for engineering. IE isn't using any of the engineering stuff to provide the passenger stuff. What part of that aren't you getting? If IE decided to give flasks of tea to their drivers and guards at stops, does that mean Railgourmet has to start giving out free sandwiches and beer? What the bus companies do is irrelevant - they have a different business model and most of the competitive focus is on what the other bus companies are doing.

The real danger for IE is not charging for wifi, it's that the wifi will be crap and not worth the money. VIA Rail Canada switched providers last year and the new service was so bad they had to give it out free. With their old provider I was happy to pay $9 for a day pass when I was doing a five hour round trip, and the wifi was available in station waiting areas as well as the train.

No need to get your knickers in a twist.

JHMEG

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Why must it be a pay model? Both Citylink and Gobus have free Wifi.

Its already more expensive to take the train, why do you need to pay above and beyond this for wi-fi?

Barry Kenny was on the radio this afternoon saying the wifi is part of the enticement to get people onto the train, and that will be taken into account when the pricing is worked out.

Barry doesn't seem to know it's already (as pointed out above) free on the bus. Thank the lord for private operators.

dowlingm

Business travellers can write off the cost and are unlikely to use the bus as an alternative. Aer Arann doesn't provide wifi and between takeoff and landing you can't use your laptop for half the flight anyway - that's the real competition here.

DWCommuter

dowlingm wrote: »

Business travellers can write off the cost and are unlikely to use the bus as an alternative. Aer Arann doesn't provide wifi and between takeoff and landing you can't use your laptop for half the flight anyway - that's the real competition here.

I don't believe that the "working on your laptop" argument is a strong enough one to entice or convince people (business or otherwise) to use the train over the car/plane.

As for wifi being possibly charged for by IE, well its really just another example of a company that is failing to recognise the need to generate custom by offering "free" perks as opposed to charging for absolutely everything, from car parking to god knows what else. In an era where other businesses are actively promoting the availability of free wifi, IE continue on their oblivious little way, safe in the knowledge that the laws of running a private business where the customer is king and profit is the goal, does not actually apply to them.

They can slash and burn, charge what they like for whatever they like and all safe in the knowledge that the DOT will always bail them out. Nice gig if you can get it.

JHMEG

Business travellers that need to be connected on the move already have 3G dongles.

In a personal sense free wifi on the bus has already won me over. That and the very competitive fares.

bk

dowlingm wrote: »

The fact that the tender is separate from the customer trial indicates that IE Engineering don't want their diagnostic data on the same link as someone who doesn't remember to turn off their torrent client.

Which just goes to show how clueless and/or inefficient IE Engineering are.

This problem would be easily solved by creating two separate VPN's one for the engineering data and one for rail user data and then setting the Quality of Service on the engineering VPN to have a certain minimum amount.

Seriously that is Cisco 101.

dowlingm wrote: »

Business travellers can write off the cost and are unlikely to use the bus as an alternative. Aer Arann doesn't provide wifi and between takeoff and landing you can't use your laptop for half the flight anyway - that's the real competition here.

God, don't start on the mythical business traveler who swans about up in first class and can write everything off as a business expense.

I take the Cork to Dublin train regularly, 90% of people fall into one of three categories:

1) OAP's on free travel, they won't care.
2) Students who would love it if it is free, but either way may end up attracted to cheap non stop buses with free wifi anyway.
3) Young professionals in their 20' and 30's who want to do work, but who aren't in a position to write it off as a business expense.

These are the people IR need to be attracting.

JHMEG

bk wrote: »

Which just goes to show how clueless and/or inefficient IE Engineering are.

This problem would be easily solved by creating two separate VPN's one for the engineering data and one for rail user data and then setting the Quality of Service on the engineering VPN to have a certain minimum amount.

Seriously that is Cisco 101.

That's possibly naive. Engineering are probably using a slower, more widely available network like GPRS or TETRA. Not suited to surfing.

Victor

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Why must it be a pay model? Both Citylink and Gobus have free Wifi.

Its already more expensive to take the train, why do you need to pay above and beyond this for wi-fi?

Well, depending on the model involved and depending on cost, the argument could be made that why should ordinary passengers (who are already paying for their own 3g service) subsidise wi-fi at a time when train services are being cut back and one line is closing.

dowlingm

There was a note in my railway gazette rss feed this morning about NSB Norway using the same network (by the way bk I'm an admin running voice and data over an MPLS network so I'm familiar with QoS thx) to run engineering and consumer, but presumably it was tendered as such and has strict firewall rules to prevent someone being able to access train systems from the consumer network.

BenShermin

Another classic waste of money, the trains are slower than they were when all we had was 071s and mark 3s, but shure aren't the download speeds a lot faster on the new trains:rolleyes:.

subtle_as

using wireless on the train at this very moment from Dublin to Cork. Works perfectly, not too slow and it is free! If it stayed like this, I'd certainly choose train over bus every time!

4zn76tysfajdxp

I ended up getting the bus in the end, by the way.

KC61

BenShermin wrote: »

Another classic waste of money, the trains are slower than they were when all we had was 071s and mark 3s, but shure aren't the download speeds a lot faster on the new trains:rolleyes:.

That is more to do with the track and the formation than the trains.

Remember that the KRP work has added 6 minutes to every train into and out of Heuston to cover temporary speed restrictions.

foggy_lad

dowlingm wrote: »

Business travellers can write off the cost and are unlikely to use the bus as an alternative. Aer Arann doesn't provide wifi and between takeoff and landing you can't use your laptop for half the flight anyway - that's the real competition here.

the service that irish rail are trialling this wifi on only has one power point per carriage so people are not going to be doing much surfing on a 3hour trip to cork or back to dublin so they are rolling out a service that many customers will not be able to access because most business customers will need to plug in their laptops!

as for the flight option well there is no comparison really, travel cork-dublin in a busy train with hard uncomfortable seats and a jerky ride or take a relaxing exciting flight? i know which choice i would be taking and i would be too busy looking out the window at the train far below to worry about wifi!!

Carawaystick

How hard would it be for IÉ to provide wifi in their stations firstly?

Ham'nd'egger

foggy_lad wrote: »

as for the flight option well there is no comparison really, travel cork-dublin in a busy train with hard uncomfortable seats and a jerky ride or take a relaxing exciting flight?

An oxymoron surely?;)

Victor

foggy_lad wrote: »

as for the flight option well there is no comparison really, travel cork-dublin in a busy train with hard uncomfortable seats and a jerky ride or take a relaxing exciting flight? i know which choice i would be taking and i would be too busy looking out the window at the train far below to worry about wifi!!

... until the engines cut out. :eek:

:pac:

dowlingm

foggy_lad wrote: »

the service that irish rail are trialling this wifi on only has one power point per carriage

Even in First? I guess I'm spoiled with my 1984 build (i.e. not modern) LRC 1st class seat with its per-seat points.

KC61

No - there are power points for each seat in First Class.

foggy_lad

dowlingm wrote: »

Even in First? I guess I'm spoiled with my 1984 build (i.e. not modern) LRC 1st class seat with its per-seat points.

KC61 wrote: »

No - there are power points for each seat in First Class.

NAMA/first/premier class is only for the bankers of the country