Here’s a high-tech counterpoint to the traditional Westerner’s view of Indian train travel, a picture of thousands of smiling brown faces crowded into – and onto – antiquated rolling stock, bodies sprawled over the rooftop, hanging off the sides of the train, enjoying the subcontinent sunshine, while a splendidly uniformed buffet car representative tiptoes delicately amongst the huddled masses, offering tea and samosas.
From now on, those huddled masses might also be wielding smartphones, laptops and iPads and surfing the information superhighway, as we used to call the internet back in the last century. Google is collaborating with Indian Railways and RailTel to bring high-speed WiFi to 100 of the country’s busiest railway stations – serving over 10 million commuters a day at a stroke – by the end of 2016.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Engineering & Technology magazine 