THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To bridge the digital divide, the Southern Railway has introduced free Wi-Fi internet facilities at 70 stations coming under the Southern division including Thiruvananthapuram Central and Kochu Veli stations in the capital. People who visit these stations can use the facility to stream high definition (HD) videos, download movies, songs, games and host meetings online.
As part of Indian Railways’ public-friendly measure, 543 stations in the Southern Railway Zone have been equipped with free Wi-Fi internet connectivity. Around 5,087-kilometre route of Southern Railway is covered with OFC (Optical Fibre Cable).
A release issued by Railways said students from remote locations with limited access to the internet use the station Wi-Fi facilities for their preparations. To switch on to the connection, passengers need to scan Wi-Fi options and choose Railwire. Once the browser takes the user to the Railwire portal, it will ask for a mobile number to which a One Time Password (OTP) will be sent. Once connected, the Wi-Fi connection will last for 30 minutes. This helps the rail passengers to stay connected and updated with railway information.
The Wi-fi is free for the first 30 min every day at 1 mbps speed. For further use, the user needs to choose a plan with higher speed by paying a nominal fee. The plans vary from Rs 10/day (for 5 GB @ 34 MBPS) to Rs 75/30 day (for 60 GB @ 34 MBPS) excluding GST.