. . . if [Wi-Fi} is an amenity, so be it (I do not want to open up that can o worms again!),
but, IMHO, Amtrak has many other more pressing problems than wifi to spend precious few $$$ on. . . .
I have my handy pocket can-opener right here!
Right now Wi-Fi is available on all
Acelas,
NE Regionals, and
the state-supported corridor trains. That good.
Wi-Fi is UNavailable on long distance trains. Not so good.
I understand that adding uninterrupted Wi-Fi service across
the plains, mountains, and deserts of the transcontinental trains
would be extremely costly. I'm willing to wait a while to start
spending for that.
But it's absurd that I get free Wi-Fi if I take a
Regional from
NYC to Lynchburg or to Richmond, but no service at all if
I take the
Crescent to Lynchburg, or the
Silvers, the
Palmetto,
or the
Carolinian to Richmond.
Another reason why Amtrak needs hundreds of new coaches etc
for the single-level trains. Those routes would not require much
new cellular infrastructure; we need modern train cars able to
receive and distribute the signals.
Then for the farther sections of those LD routes, again, I'm not for
spending big money on cellular infrastructure just yet. But if we had
modern coaches receiving the cellular signals where available,
riders would have a few minutes at each stop along the way to
check e-mails or even dash off a reply.
This station-stop Wi-Fi would not be much, but it would be much much
more than LD passengers get today. And since we need new coaches etc,
the need for more Wi-Fi is just another reason to hurry to get them.