Metra tests Wi-Fi service on train cars
(Ron Cogswell/Flickr)
CHICAGO (AP) — Metra has begun putting Wi-Fi "hot spots" on select train cars as a part of an 11-car test run the transit agency announced last fall.
The Chicago Tribune reports Metra will complete installing Wi-Fi and signs notifying passengers of the service in a few weeks. The agency has finished work on 10 cars so far. Not all cars are in use. When the project is complete one car will be designated for each of Metra's 11 lines.
Adding wireless service to 11 cars is costing the agency about $35,000. Metra spokesman Michael Gillis tells the Tribune the Wi-Fi speed is intended for checking emails and Web browsing, not for video streaming. A system wide wireless speed capable of that would cost Metra about $72 million.