Indian Railways, which has more than 8500 Stations, has extended internet service to 158 rural stations through WiFi hotspots. In the recent past, the Railways have taken various steps to improve passenger services like lifts and escalators at the stations for facilitating movement across platforms, battery operated vehicles for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, Wi-fi facility at 127 important stations on IR among others.
Wi-Fi services to passengers are being provided under ‘Railwire’, the retail Broadband distribution model of RailTel. Designed to offer users the best Internet experience, Railwire Wi-Fi will be available to any user who has a working mobile connection on a smartphone. Railway stations are the places where the cross-section of the society is available.
The initiative is part of bridging the digital divide & providing high-speed access network to all rail users with the financial inclusion of Local Cable Operators. This facility shall provide our railway passengers to remain connected while waiting for the train. They can also use this facility for streaming High-Density Videos, do their office work online etc.
Earlier this week, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that the number of railway stations with superlative WiFi service has reached 324, helping meet digital aspirations of the country. Contributing towards the fulfilment of Digital India initiative, the Railways decided to provide Wi-Fi Broadband facility to Rail users at major Railway stations.
Here’s the Statewise Status of Railway Stations with Wi-Fi Connectivity:
| S.No | State/UT | Commissioned Stations | Coming Soon |
| 1. | Andhra Pradesh | Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur,Palasa, Rajahmundry, Kakinada Town, Nellore, Srikakulam Road, Bhimavaram Town, Samalkot Jn., Eluru, SatyaSai Prashanti Nilayam, Anakapalle, Tenali Jn.,Tuni & Vizianagaram | Cuddapah, Guntakal Jn., Renigunta, Anantapur, Chirala, Gudur Jn., Ongole, Tadepalligudem |
| 2. | Assam | Jorhat Town,Guwahati, Lumding, Rangiya Jn., | Barpeta Road, Kamakhya, New Bongaigaon, Silchar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh Town |
| 3. | Bihar | Patna, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Danapur, Mokama, Kiul Jn.,Samastipur Jn., Darbhanga, Chhapra & Bhagalpur | Anugraha Narayan Road, Bapudham Motihari, Barauni Jn., Betiah, Dehri-On-Sone, Jamui, Katihar Jn, Khagaria Jn., Madhubani, Patna Sahib Jn., Siwan Jn., Rajendra Nagar(T), Buxar, Bakhtiyarpur Jn., Ara Jn., Sasaram Jn., Jamalpur, Purnea Jn, Kishanganj. |
| 4. | Chandigarh | Chandigarh | – |
| 5. | Chhattisgarh | Raipur, Bilaspur, Champa Jn.,Bhilai Power House, Raigarh & Durg,Rajnandgaon | Power House |
| 6. | Gujarat | Surat, Ahmedabad, Viramgam, Jamnagar,Bhavnagar Terminus, Palanpur,Valsad, Surendranagar,Udhana, Gandhidham,Navsari, Vapi,Bhuj,Vadodara & Rajkot | Mahesana , Veraval, Anand, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Nadiad |
| 7. | Haryana,Faridabad New | Faridabad Old,Ambala Cantt., Ballabgarh,Karnal, Rohtak, Panipat, Sonipat, Gurugram, Rewari | Hisar, Jagadhri, Kalka |
| 8. | Himachal Pradesh | Solan, Shimla | – |
| 9. | Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu Tawi | Udhampur |
| 10. | Jharkhand | Ranchi, Dhanbad Jn., Jasidih Jn. ,Bokaro Steel City,Koderma,Madhupur, Hatia, N.S.C.B. Gomoh Jn., Parashnath & Tatanagar | |
| 11. | Karnataka | Dharwad,Bangalore City, Bangarpet, Mangalore Central, Hubli, Kengeri, Gulbarga,Krishnarajapuram, Mysore & Yesvantpur (Bangalore),Hospet,Hassan Jn | Bangalore Cantt.,Belgaum, Davangere, Mangalore Jn., Shimoga Town, Raichur, Yadgir, Bellary |
| 12. | Kerala | Ernakulam Jn, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrissur, Kollam Jn & Kozhikode | Ernakulam Town, Kanhangad, Kannur, Kottayam, Palakkad Jn., Shoranur Jn., Tiruvalla, Vadakara, Kasargod, Payyannur, Thalassery, Tirur, Alappuzha, Aluva, Chengannur, Kayankulam Jn |
| 13. | Madhya Pradesh | Bina,Ujjain, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Satna, Singrauli, Itarsi,Pipariya, Vidisha,Ratlam, Damoh,Saugor,Nagda, Morena,Hoshangabad,Gwalior & Indore | Habibganj, Katni, Maihar, , Rewa, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Betul |
| 14. | Maharashtra | Ballarshah, Mumbai Central, Churchgate, Bandra, Bandra Terminus, Dadar (WR), Dadar (CR), Khar Road, Kalyan, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Byculla, Panvel, Thane, Borivali, Lonavala, Kurla, Andheri, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Belapur, Vashi, Dombivli, Chembur, , Vasai, Virar, Bhyander, Ghatkopar, Daund, Wardha, Sainagar Sirdi, Pune, Mulund, Kurduwadi,Bhusawal, Nagpur, Kopargaon,Manmad, Badnera, Solapur,Badlapur, Chandrapur, Vadala Road, Ahmednagar,Akola & Aurangabad ,Kolhapur,Miraj &Latur | Gondia, Jalgaon, Nasik Road, Jalna, Nagarsol, Nanded, Parbhani jn., Amravati, Chalisgaon, Shegaon |
| 15. | Nagaland | Dimapur | – |
| 16. | Delhi | Hazarat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar Terminus, Delhi Cantt.,Adarshnagar delhi, Delhi Shahadra, New Delhi & Delhi Jn | Delhi Sarai Rohilla |
| 17. | Odisha | Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Khurda Road, Rourkela, Rayagada, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road,Jharsuguda, Balasore, Bhadrak & Puri | – |
| 18. | Punjab | Jalandhar City,Rajpura Jn.,Phagwara, Bathinda Jn., Amritsar &Beas,Pathankot,Jallandhar Cantt., Firozpur Cantt.,Sirhind Jn. & Ludhiana | Chakki Bank |
| 19. | Rajasthan | Sawai Madhopur,Bikaner,Hanumangarh Jn.,Jaipur, Alwar, Ajmer, Udaipur City, Falna, Kota, Jaisalmer,Abu road, Phulera, Pali Marwar,Lalgarh, Marwar Jn. &Bharatpur, Chittorgarh Jn., Jodhpur | Rani, Suratgarh, Bandikui, Gandhinagar-Jp, |
| 20. | Tamil Nadu | Dindigul Jn,Nagercoil Jn,Madurai, Coimbatore, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Arakkonam Jn., Tiruchchirappalli, Chennai Central, Udagamandalam (Ooty), Chengalpattu Jn., Coonoor, Rameswaram, Villupuram Jn., Erode Jn,,Karur Jn., Jolarpettai Jn, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur Jn, Katpadi & Mettupalayam,Tirunelveli Jn,Kanniyakumari,Tuticorin, Kovilpatti | Salem Jn, Virudhunagar Jn, Tiruppur, Mayiladuthurai Jn. |
| 21. | Telangana | Kacheguda, Kurnool Town, Khammam, Secunderabad, Kazipet Jn.,Manchiryal, Hyderabad & Warangal | Ssp Nilayam, Nizamabad |
| 22. | Uttar Pradesh | Khalilabad,Fatehpur,Sultanpur,Azamgarh, Jhansi, Lucknow, Lucknow Jn., Ayodhya, Mughalsarai Jn., Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Aligarh, Gonda Jn., Bareilly, Kanpur, Mathura, Varanasi, Agra Cantt., Ghazipur City, Bhadohi, Muzaffarnagar, Basti, Pratapgarh, Etawah, Saharanpur Jn., Moradabad, Hardoi,Mirzapur, Tundla, Janghai, Meerut City,Phaphund, Meerut Cant., Ghaziabad,Agra Fort, Deoria Sadar,Barabanki,Lalitpur,Mau Jn., Shahganj,Raja Ki Mandi, Hapur, Rae – Bareli ,Jn.,Shahjahanpur | Ballia, Belthara Road, Chitrakutdham Karwi, Deoria Sadar, Jaunpur, Rampur, Orai, Unnao, Hardoi |
| 23. | Uttarakhand / Uttranchal | Dehradun, Haridwar, Kathgodam | Roorkee, Rudrapur City |
| 24. | West Bengal | Sealdah, Kharagpur, Asansol, Barddhaman, Digha, Rampurhat, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Howrah, Durgapur, Darjeeling, Siliguri Jn, Naihati Jn., New Farakka, Alipurduar Junction & Ghoom,New Coochbehar,Coochbehar,Bandel, New Alipurduar,Purulia Jn & Ghoom | Kolkata Terminal, Shalimar, Raiganj |
| 24. | Goa | Vasco-Da-Gama | |
| T O T A L | 317 Stations | 102 Stations | |
RailTel was entrusted the task of providing fast Wi-Fi for the use of passengers at A1, A category Railway stations. RailTel roped in Google as the technology partner for setting up fast Wi-Fi network initially covering 400 stations for providing fast Wi Fi to millions of passengers everyday.
The Wi-Fi service shall provide high speed connectivity for viewing uninterrupted high definition video, download of movies, songs, games by the passengers at Railway station. RailTel shall be providing high speed end to end network connectivity on Fiber, Google shall be providing the Radio Access Network along with Technology support.
It has always been the endeavour of the Railways to provide adequate amenities to the passengers at the stations. Certain amenities are provided at the time of construction of new stations based on anticipated volume of traffic. Amenities are further augmented from time to time with growth in passenger traffic handled at stations, on the basis of the need felt, expectations of the travelling public and availability of funds.