State-owned Swedish rail operator SJ has reached the midpoint in its latest Passenger Wi-Fi expansion project on its closed carriage trains. In total, 232 carriages, ranging across 13 different vehicle types, will be integrated with Icomera’s mobile Internet connectivity and application platform. The full roll-out is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Icomera first deployed its solutions on board SJ vehicles 15 years ago in 2003, with seamless technology upgrades helping the operator keep pace with passenger demand in subsequent years. The SJ train fleet travels throughout Sweden, with train routes that penetrate deep into the rural countryside and mountainous regions, carrying 130,000 passengers every day.
“Having fast Internet is one important competitive advantage of the train, whether it’s used for work or pleasure. We know that more and more people want to be connected during the trip and that it is important for our travellers” said Jakob Åhgren Thörnblad, responsible for customer offerings at SJ.
Since December Icomera has also been upgrading SJ’s higher-speed X2000 fleet, using LTE-A technology. Early results suggest that network throughput has increased by 20%, a noticeable improvement for SJ’s passengers.
In addition to improving the passenger experience with optimal Internet connectivity, some of SJ’s other operational applications, including train crew communications, GPS positioning and on-board system monitoring, are also reliably supported by the Icomera platform.
Mats Karlsson, Founder and VP of Innovation at Icomera: “Our work with SJ is a long-standing partnership; we provide them with a solution that will satisfy all their immediate needs, and then go the extra step to keep them ahead of the curve
“SJ was one of the earliest adopters of onboard Wi-Fi, and it has paid off for them many times over. What’s more, they have proven that mobile Internet is something that benefits both the operator and the passenger: a win-win situation.”
Göran Linné, Head of Train IT for SJ will be sharing the operator’s Passenger Wi-Fi story at this week’s BWCS Train Communication Systems conference in London. For more information about the event please visit: http://www.traincomms.com/
