Sahibabad station 1500th to get free Wi-Fi facility

Sahibabad Station under Northern Railways has become the 1500th station in the country to get free Wi-Fi facility provided by RailTel, officials said. So far, the entire Delhi-Ambala and Ambala-Chandigarh sections and Kalka Shimla Hill Railways have been covered with free Wi-Fi service at stations.

Recently, Indian Railways set a record by covering 500 stations with free Wi-Fi in seven days. In order to set up free Wi-Fi at all railway stations on the Indian Railways network (except the halt stations) within a year, RailTel has tied up with Tata Trust for providing Wi-Fi at 4791 B, C, D and E category stations. "The project was initiated from Mumbai Central Station and Sahibabad gets the distinction of becoming the 1500th station to get access to free Wi-Fi. We are now targeting the smaller stations and striving to complete the project by the year-end," said Chairman and Managing Director of RailTel Puneet Chawla.

"These are very small stations catering to the rural population and low-density areas. As there is a visible digital divide between rural and urban India, the rural population is often deprived of the latest telecom infrastructure mainly provided by the private operators. The Indian Railways has taken the initiative of providing free Wi-Fi at the stations so that not only the rail users but also the local populace can benefit from it," he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)