Wireless woohoo!
 

I'm sending this message from on board the 0600 GNER service from London (KC) to Leeds. So it seem as appropriate a time as any to wonder what the estimated cost of providing for WiFi on a train would be; what the official IÉ line on this is, and whether you think this service would be successful on Irish trains.

(For the record, the wireless here is in all coaches, charged for Standard but free for First, and starts at £2.95 for 30 minutes (obviously there are discounts if you pay for longer, but it is consective rather than 'airtime' based, so you can't just buy three hours and use ten minutes of it each journey)

(Needless to say there are sockets at all seats in Standard, not just behind nos 5/6 ;) )

I've seen quite a number of people using laptops on the afternoon/evening trains, I would think at certain times of the day it would be popular but IÉ would have to provide sockets too for every seat unlike currently. :(

Sadly on VIA Rail wireless is not free anywhere, but is accessible from VIA1 (with its own router I think), Comfort and the lounges at stations. It uses satellite uplink I think. Not very quick but quick enough.
http://www.viarail.ca/wirelessinternet/en_index.html