Cable-less Internet browsing launched at Bangalore City Railway Station

Cable-less Internet browsing launched at Bangalore City Railway Station

The Hindu

`Cyber Express' to offer many facilities

# 82 cyber cafes sanctioned by the Railway Board
# They will be set up in Hubli and Mysore
# Renovated waiting halls, AC lounges opened at the Cantonment Railway Station
# Major upgrading of Bangalore City Railway Station planned

BANGALORE: Bangalore City Railway Station became the first railway station in the country to have the Wi-Fi facility for cable-less broadband Internet browsing.

South Western Railway (SWR) General Manager T.N. Perti inaugurated the facility and "Cyber Express", a cyber cafe set up by the RailTel Corporation with assistance from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Perti said 82 cyber cafes had been sanctioned by the Railway Board, and they would be set up in Hubli and Mysore.

Cyber Express will provide facilities such as high-speed Internet browsing, email, audio-video chatting through web cameras, Internet telephony, printing, scanning, CD-writing and mobile handset charging. It is equipped with 16 PC terminals with web cameras, a printer, VOIP telephone for making low-cost ISD calls, scanner and CD writers.

The facility can be used through paper cards in the denominations of Rs. 10 for use for 30 minutes, and Rs. 20 for an hour. The cards can be used only once at a particular cyber cafe.

The "Passenger Concourse", the waiting rooms for passengers in air-conditioned (AC) and second-class coaches, and the "Shatabdi Concourse" on Platform No. 5 are Wi-Fi-enabled for passengers who use laptops. Passengers can purchase scratch cards available at the cafe.

Pre-paid cards

After the Wi-Fi facility is extended to other stations, regular users can purchase RailTel pre-paid cards with roaming facility at an initial cost of Rs. 20. It will be possible to recharge these cards in varying denominations from Rs. 50 to Rs. 500, and users can visit any other cafe or Wi-Fi facility of RailTel.

Earlier, Mr. Perti inaugurated renovated waiting halls and AC lounges at the Cantonment Railway Station.

He inaugurated the AC lounge on Platform No. 8 and the renovated "Concourse/Customer Facilitation Centre" at the City Railway Station.

Mr. Perti said computerised booking of "retiring rooms" and online display of availability of retiring rooms had been introduced at the City Station.

The SWR plans to set up computerised ticket vending machines at the second entrance to the railway station.

Mr. Perti said the SWR had received sanction for taking up major upgrading works at the second entrance of the City Railway Station at a cost of over Rs. 4 crore. The Railways intended to make it the main entry, and negotiations were on with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for arrangements to regulate traffic, he added.

Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Kumar and other senior SWR officials were present.