Travelers on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor (NEC) will soon enjoy improved Wi-Fi, with a more reliable and easier connection to high-speed broadband.
Amtrak Acela Express customers are already benefiting from performance tuning, including improved stability and reliability of VPN connections for customers accessing corporate networks.
Northeast Regional trains will receive upgraded processors and modem cards this summer, as well as new antennas that will improve speed.
These upgrades will allow for quicker loading times for webpages and other content, the ability to send and receive files faster, improved video streaming and audio performance, and a more productive and enjoyable experience.
“These Wi-Fi upgrades are another example of recent steps we have taken to improve the customer experience and why we are the preferred choice for travel on the Northeast Corridor,” said Amtrak Vice President of Marketing Kerry McKelvey.
Later this summer, customers will also experience a new, simplified Amtrak Wi-Fi landing page.
As part of this upgrade, customer preferences will be saved over a period of seven days for both onboard and in-station connections, providing a simplified and convenient experience.
(Learn More. What if there was a better way to travel? Where you didn’t have to put up with traffic jams. Tollbooths. Detours. Construction sites. Stopping for gas. Or stopping to eat. And have we mentioned traffic jams? Courtesy of Amtrak and YouTube)
NEC Wi-Fi Stats include:
- On average, 20,000 Wi-Fi sessions occur on the NEC every day
- More than 70 percent of devices aboard Acela trains connect to Amtrak’s Wi-Fi
- The average session time on Regional trains is 1 hour 41 minutes, and on Acela is 2 hours and 9 minutes
- NEC Wi-Fi users combine to consume on average over 2 Terabytes of data per day (1 Terabyte equals about 472 hours of broadcast-quality video)
- Largest day of data consumption on the NEC (April 2, 2018) was over 3 Terabytes of data
Starting in mid-May, customers accessing free Wi-Fi will simply select Amtrak Wi-Fi from the list of options on their smartphones, tablets or laptop computers.
Once selected, customers must agree to the terms and conditions to gain access to the service.
(Our free wifi is now available to 85 percent of Amtrak customers. You love the service, but you have some questions. So we grabbed the former CMO of Amtrak, Matt Hardison, and answered your questions straight from Facebook and Twitter! Courtesy of Amtrak and YouTube. Posted on Mar 8, 2014 so be on the lookout for an update soon!)
