Passenger Trains > WIFI on Coast Starlight

How is it working out?
On my Oct.16th trip from LAX to SEA, the TV reportedly had fallen down and broke the router.
So no WIFI or movie in the Parlor Car.
Typical Amtrak maintenance.

The last few times I have been on 11/14 , the wifi has never worked. The parlour attendants don't know how to fix it and blame is placed on the LA guys that are supposedly in charge of maintaining it.

I'll be back on 11 in a few weeks so I will report back. Hopefully live from the train.. :)

Tony



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/11 22:31 by zuco74.

I've had major problems with the WiFi on all trips. Did get a good public signal in Klamath Falls during a long station stopover on #14. But other than that, there's been very poor signal, or no service at all from the onboard router.

It didn't work on my Portland - Martinez trip in January. The attendant kept blaming the train's location, but no one was even able to get an IP address from the router. It was an attempt to do something "on the cheap"....perhaps some day Amtrak will get around to installing their new, more reliable WiFi system on LD trains.

Dave

A couple of weeks ago I was able to use it for a while coming up the coast. However, I lost the internet connection and couldn't get it back, even though my WiFi showed a strong signal. The attendant (a very experienced and generally quite good one) was clueless. I suspect that the router was running fine but had lost its own connection--thus the strong signal with nothing behind it.

I'd be fairly sure that Amtrak could install a system like the airlines have, but then they'd have to charge for it. Sounds like the wifi that Amtrak has works off cell towers

Frequently, I am on the "Coast Starlight" (Trains 11/14) and have enjoyed services on the Parlour Cars; however, I have also experienced problems with the WiFi. I asked a supervisor at LA Union Station and he confirmed the current system is linked to cell networks. Therefore, the WiFi encounters dead spots including Vandenburg AFB, north of Redding, and locations throughout Oregon and Washington. A new system has been recently tested and results are very positive. The test car is #39972, and performance of the other four cars is being evaluated. He also mentioned a loss of power or signal strength disrupts the Wifi so it takes a few minutes to re-boot.

calzephyr48 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd be fairly sure that Amtrak could install a
> system like the airlines have, but then they'd
> have to charge for it. Sounds like the wifi that
> Amtrak has works off cell towers

FYI, the Capitol Corridor tried the satellite-based system few years ago before the airlines installed theirs. I remember experiencing disruptions, especially going under overpasses (Suisun/Fairfield) and tunnels (near Crockett). The cell tower based system seemed a bit better in those locations, at least when I tried it last weekend.