Passengers on long-distance transport and on selected connections of the Prague Integrated Transport can look forward to more reliable Wi-Fi. České dráhy concluded a contract with the subsidiary ČD – Telematika to replace the oldest routers with new, more powerful technology. This will be carried out on 146 passenger cars and in all railjet units.
"A high-quality internet connection is one of the most requested services by our customers and public transport customers. The train can then be used as a mobileanc"elář, it is easy to surf social networks and handle emails and other messages. We introduced Wi-Fi on trains a long time ago, so the original technology is already outdated in many respects. That is why we decided to replace it with modern, powerful devices that will strengthen Wi-Fi and Internet connection, especially on long-distance trains. The new technology will also work with the support of 5G networks, which guarantees a truly significant increase in quality," says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Czech Railways.
New Wi-Fi routers installed in trains will use all public data frequencies from 700 to 2600 MHz and all available networks, so-called bonding. This means that the on-board Wi-Fi in the train will always communicate with the base station of the operator that offers the best quality mobile data signal at the point of travel. The technology will also be able to use networks at the 5G level. In addition to the Czech Republic, Wi-Fi will also be ready for operation in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany.
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"We appreciate being able to participate in improving the functionality of Wi-Fi networks on Czech Railways trains. The newly installed devices support next-generation networks and will be able to keep up with the times for a long time. For example, maxThe minimum connection speed of the new routers, up to 5,5 Gbps, far exceeds the current capabilities of the ground infrastructure, so there is no risk that the routers will quickly become obsolete. The Internet will be distributed to passengers at 2,4 and 5 GHz frequencies via the Wi-Fi 5 standard with the possibility of future upgrades to Wi-Fi 6,” says Jan Hobza, chairman of the board of directors of ČD – Telematika.
The Wi-Fi technology will be replaced on a total of 195 vehicles, including 131 express cars, 3 control cars and 12 double-decker cars of Prague Integrated Transport and 49 cars in 7 railjet units. The express cars include the Apee, Bdmpee, Ampz, Bhmpz, Bdmpz and Bmz241 and 245 series. They are modern and comfortable cars for maxmaximum speed of 160 or 200 km/h, which Czech Railways mainly uses on trains EuroCity and InterCity Berliner, Metropolitan, Southern Express, Western Express, Bavarian Express and on to expressways Berounka or Slovak express.
The complete renewal of Wi-Fi technology, including dismantling of old equipment, installation of new equipment, processing of renewal documentation, approval of changes and training of personnel, will be carried out by the subsidiary ČD – Telematika, which will then also provide complete service for a period of 60 months.
