The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board has voted to have Wi-Fi installed on all cars on all trains, following a successful pilot program conducted during the last few months.
"It will enhance the ridership experience," said NICTD General Manager Michael Noland after the vote. "So far, overwhelmingly, the comments are they enjoy having the Wi-Fi."
The Wi-Fi has been tested on 10 high-capacity cars and will now be installed on about 70 more. Noland said the installation should be completed sometime in the first three months of next year.
The move comes just after a successful trial allowing passengers to bring bicycles on a few weekend trains. In April, bicycles will be allowed on select South Shore trains every weekend.
The Wi-Fi will make the cars GPS capable, opening up the possibility of things like completely automated train status notifications for passengers, Noland said.
Wi-Fi is wireless technology that allows computers, smartphones and other devices to connect to the Internet.
The estimated cost of installing Wi-Fi on cars is about $1,000 per car, said John Parsons, NICTD planning and marketing director. The Wi-Fi subscription will cost the railroad about $45,000 to $50,000 per year.
The railroad must still go to bid on the installation project, but it expects to meet with success after the good reviews of the pilot program, Parsons said.
The successful Wi-Fi pilot came after years of failed attempts to come up with a workable way to provide Wi-Fi on trains.