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Amtrak is working on adding free WiFi access to all of its trains, which would certainly make traveling by rail in the US a lot more pleasant. I take an Amtrak train from Philadelphia to New York every now and again for business meetings or trade shows, and while it’s a short enough trip, I always feel like I have to cram a large portion of my workday into the time before I board the train. Knowing that I could actually get a reliable internet connection during my 3 hour round trip would make a huge difference in my travel days.

Amtrak has been testing free WiFi on its Acela Express trains between Washington and Boston for a while. But I’m too cheap to take the high speed trains (which would only get me to New York about 10 minutes faster anyway), so I’ve never had a chance to try the service. But according to Ars Technica, Amtrak says that 39 percent of Acela passengers have used the WiFi service.

It’s not clear exactly when you’ll be able to get WiFi access on a train near you, but Amtrak hopes to start installing the system this fall.

via GottaBeMobile