BOSTON – Passengers on the Worcester-Framingham commuter-rail line out of South Station will be the first to sample free wireless Internet service under a pilot program announced yesterday by Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
The pilot program is “one of the first programs of this type on a U.S. commuter-rail system,” MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said in a statement yesterday.
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The weekday-only service – called WiFi Commuter Rail Connect, and slated to begin in the middle of this week – will bring free wireless Internet access to at least one car on every inbound and outbound train on the line. Those cars will bear signs indicating WiFi is available.
Forty-one passenger coaches on the Worcester-Framingham line are being outfitted with wireless routers in preparation for the service, the MBTA said. The routers will enable passengers in those coaches to connect to the Internet via their laptop computers, cellular phones, PDAs or other WiFi-enabled devices during their commutes to and from Boston’s South Station.
“This service will provide our customers with the opportunity to get the most out of their time spent commuting,” Grabauskas said. “During this test phase, feedback from our riders will be solicited to help us maximize the technology’s benefits,” he said. The service later will be expanded “to other parts of the 13-line Commuter Rail system.”
The lieutenant governor started working with the MBTA on this program when he was the mayor of Worcester, contending that WiFi service would help improve the connectivity and productivity of the Bay State work force.
“This is an important first step in our commitment to improve commuter services throughout the Commonwealth,” Murray said yesterday. “I commend the MBTA and General Manager Grabauskas on their efforts to get this pilot program up and running.”
The Worcester-Framingham line is 45 miles long and travels through 10 communities, the MBTA said. The line serves 17 stations and, on a typical workday, carries 18,000 passengers.
For more information about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or its wireless Internet pilot program, WiFi Commuter Rail Connect, visit www.mbta.com.
