Amtrak said it plans to test a system for offering passengers high-speed Internet access on its trains. In a test scheduled for next month, riders in a cafe car on an Amtrak line with stops in Harrisburg, Pa., Philadelphia and New York will be able to watch movies and television shows, check e-mail or shop online using interactive touch screens.
The interactive wireless entertainment and communications system will be installed on the back of Amtrak train seats and have a touch-screen display. The screens allow passengers to connect to the Internet using a new high-speed wireless network.
“Passengers can tune in for work or play, and advertisers gain access to a highly affluent, captive audience,” said Carlos Garcia, chief executive of NRoute Communications, the network’s provider. If the tests succeed, NRoute will install and maintain the equipment at no cost to the railroad, and Amtrak will get a small share of ad revenues.
The business model as highlighted in the last paragraph could be how we approach hotels to offer Thin Clients in their rooms for guests to get Internet access.
