All intercity trains fitted with free wifi

[sublimity]

Originally Posted by DangerM

Hi Mark, on all Rosslare trains or just one, it has definitely not been available on any of the journeys I have been on. Can we find out for definite? I have contacted Irish rail myself but no response yet. It's false advertising..

Indeed you hit the nail on the head - FALSE ADVERTISING.

Currently the 13:36 to Rosslare is a 4 piece 29000. Not sure about the evening services but I'd assume they are also 29k operated?

I mean seriously, is anyone else not ****** off that Wexford/Rosslare still has Commuter trains today?

In order for this route to grow, we need every service Intercity standard with the Wi Fi facility on board ( regardless of bad coverage in some spots)

[DangerM]

Originally Posted by ciaram

I'm on the morning down sevice at the moment (9.58 ex Dun Laoghaire, carriage 22209) and can confirm that while there is wifi, the router isn't handing out IP addresses, so you just end up with a 169 address, so not much use really. I'm seeing two access points, same channel so I presume one ap in each end.

Originally Posted by sublimity

Indeed you hit the nail on the head - FALSE ADVERTISING.

Currently the 13:36 to Rosslare is a 4 piece 29000. Not sure about the evening services but I'd assume they are also 29k operated?

I mean seriously, is anyone else not ****** off that Wexford/Rosslare still has Commuter trains today?

In order for this route to grow, we need every service Intercity standard with the Wi Fi facility on board ( regardless of bad coverage in some spots)

So is it only the new Intercity trains that have wifi then? The 05:35 out of Rosslare is a 29k and two out of the three back down to Wexford in the evening are 29k's too (16:37 & 17:36).

And, YES, I am very ****** off that we still have these commuter trains but no one cares except us idiots on it each day! I would at least like to get to the bottom of this wifi issue.

[Mark Gleeson]

All ICR/22k services are meant to have wifi, as I posted I have a confirmed report from a passenger that they have used wifi on an ICR service between Rosslare and Dublin

Irish Rail's wording is 'intercity trains' and doesn't state all trains on a specific route are fitted. So if its a 29k (some of which actually have wifi too) it falls outside the description published.

Based on past experience and feedback from the ASAI (plus the wifi is free) no complaint would be upheld

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by DangerM

So is it only the new Intercity trains that have wifi then? The 05:35 out of Rosslare is a 29k and two out of the three back down to Wexford in the evening are 29k's too (16:37 & 17:36).

And, YES, I am very ****** off that we still have these commuter trains but no one cares except us idiots on it each day! I would at least like to get to the bottom of this wifi issue.

It is on all intercity branded trains (the vehicles, not the services) at the moment. It will be added to Enterprise, Commuter & DART branded trains.

[James Howard]

At this stage I have given up on it and gone back to my phone - it is completely unreliable. On at least one train on the Sligo line it does't work at all - the network is there but neither my laptop, ipad or phone can connect to it and I can't see the login page. When it does work, it is glitchy and its failure modes are very bad - you see error pages from a Squid proxy,

Basically, I get a better service off my phone (three) so I'll stick with that. For commuters and anybody travelling for business, this sort of service is useless if isn't reliable. There is no point in turning up for a train expecting to get a couple of hours work done and then discovering that the service isn't working. If you have to back it up you might as well just use your backup.

I understand that the service is highly dependent on the quality of the phone network and there are large stretches of the Sligo line with no coverage such as between Mullingar and Killucan but if my phone gets a signal, then this system should be able to get a signal. It isn't even as if it is heavily used on the early morning service - most of the long-haulers are asleep on this train.

But it is excellent value at the price :-)

[Thomas J Stamp]

well, i can certifiy that whenever i have tried to use the wifi on the cork-dublin line its usually rubbish. in fact three times i have just closed the laptop and gazed out the window instead to calm down after the experiance.

[DangerM]

Seems the 29k's on the Rosslare line now have wi-fi, is this a sign they are not going anytime soon?

[Jamie2k9]

The whole IR fleet will have wifi by end of 2012, not sure if that timeline applies to Belfast services.

[Mark Gleeson]

The entire 29k fleet should be fitted at this stage. Not formally advertised but it may work

DART fleet is next up for WIFI and I have seen a few units with the 3G antenna units fitted

[James Howard]

Have any regular travellers derived any benefit whatsoever from this service? I have given it a whirl a few times and it vaguely works if there is hardly anybody on the train. But once the train gets more that a quarter full, it is back to the phone. I have spoken to a couple of others and they have had the same experience.

Basically this service is a complete waste of money. They might actually be better off charging a couple of euro for it as then at least it would be some use to those who pay for it.

What kind of money would this infrastructure have cost to install? Is it possible that they could have funded the services that have been cancelled in the new timetable with this sort of cash?

[Inniskeen]

Have given up on the onboard Wi-Fi, too slow to be of any practical use, 3G almost invariably much faster.

[karlr42]

I find it better than my phone since Meteor seem to have huge black holes between the M50 and Clonsilla where I can only get EDGE speed, which is useless.

[James Howard]

I guess it is good as a backup for some people and tourists on roaming will probably put up with the poor speed.

I have found that it tends to die in the same places as my phone though, so I suspect that on the Sligo line it is relying very heavily on 3 infrastructure.

[Mark Gleeson]

I recorded a download speed of over 7Mbps one day, so the on train gear is more than capable of offering good service

The problems are poor coverage and heavy usage, looking at 20+ per coach at times

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by James Howard

I suspect that on the Sligo line it is relying very heavily on 3 infrastructure.

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The problems are poor coverage and heavy usage, looking at 20+ per coach at times

we mentioned before that this is just a piggy back into the mobile broadband service. i have a 3 wifi hotspot thing on my kitchen table does the same, and sometimes falls asunder when a train goes past as everyone on it hops into the vodafone mast in Ballysorrell.

[Kilocharlie]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

I recorded a download speed of over 7Mbps one day, so the on train gear is more than capable of offering good service

The problems are poor coverage and heavy usage, looking at 20+ per coach at times

Is there an antenna per coach or per train?

[Mark Gleeson]

One WIFI box per unit, two antenna's on the roof

It uses Voda/O2/Meteor I think for the backhaul, so in ideal conditions you could get 60mbps to the train, thats theory

[Jamie2k9]

One WIFI box per unit, two antenna's on the roof

It uses Voda/O2/Meteor I think for the backhaul, so in ideal conditions you could get 60mbps to the train, thats theory

Would that mean that a 2*3 set operating a route be able to cope with a much higher volume of users than a 6 peice set?

[Mark Gleeson]

On a practical basis yes 2*3 would have better internet than a 6 piece, in a congested area, in the middle of nowhere no real difference

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

I recorded a download speed of over 7Mbps one day, so the on train gear is more than capable of offering good service

The problems are poor coverage and heavy usage, looking at 20+ per coach at times

Have they blocked streaming yet?