SCORE! With the horrible air travel news from over the weekend, it's time for great news on the train travel front. Amtrak just announced yesterday that they've added WiFi on 12 more east coast routes, bringing the percentage of riders who can access it up to 60%.

The WiFi service is called AmtrakConnect and before now, passengers opting for the train over the plane only found it on the high-speed Acela and the normal-speed Pacific Cascades trains. The new routes are short and limited to the east coast—no New York to Chicago or DC to Chicago routes with WiFi yet—and where available, AmtrakConnect will make use of 4G connections.

And the new routes with on-track WiFi are: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-11-01T10:00:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/3/29/152457/112

We still need to get through the Royal Wedding before finalizing our plans for the 2012 Olympics, but if need be, we might be able to plan things on the fly when the fun rolls around next year. London is moving full-speed ahead in preparation for next year’s games, and it looks like Tube stations will also be getting some spit polishing.

Unfortunately the upgrade doesn’t include air conditioning, but they do involve a little bit of technology. The city is attempting to bring WiFi to the London Underground before the 2012 Olympics, which means no more dropped signals on your smartphone when you’re forced to head below street level. ]]> kjb 2011-03-30T08:31:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/9/8427/83028

We may talk about airplanes quite a bit here on Jaunted, but trust that our love is strong for trains, too. It just sucks that we can't be as proud of Amtrak as Europe and Japan can be of their awesome train systems, but at least Amtrak is making headway in the on-board connectivity departments. In addition to the Acela trains and select stations having WiFi, the west coast Cascades train now has free WiFi.

The Cascades, which travels between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene, Oregon, has thus far relied on its awesome scenery to do the majority of the entertaining for its passengers. But now, thankfully, people can get a little work done while enjoying the ride, as the WiFi network will allow passengers to log into VPN networks as well. Of course, just as with in-flight wifi, don't put all your hopes on hooking into on-track WiFi as a signal isn't guaranteed. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-09T08:43:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/30/151719/427

We love Tuesdays. Why, you ask? Because the day brings many travel tips and quips as "Travel Tuesday" on Twitter, and we're going to share our favorite with you. Got an avid travel twitterer we should follow? Let us know.g

It's a sad, yet true, fact that as upgrading technology is forever a race. Now that some airplanes have in-flight WiFi, the rest of aviation is running to keep up. And it can't just be airplanes, but trains too—Amtrak just got wifi on their Acela trains and in select stations, and it's even free. How much longer will it be until automobiles come equipped with their own personal networks so that passengers can surf the web faster on their smartphones?

And although we can now access the internet wirelessly in so many previously unimaginable places, cable and telephone companies like TimeWarner and Comcast continue to confuse and provide service that isn't all that fast unless you opt for the pricey packages. Twitter user @courtneywmay is irked as well:

Acela will have more usable Internet than this office. How sad.

Trust us—there is nothing more frustrating than paying through the nose for internet at home, only to find free service that beats the heck out of yours at places like McDonald's or a bus station. But then we're all for more WiFi everywhere, so we suppose we can't complain too much.

Related Stories:
· @courtneywmay [Twitter]
· Twitter Travel [Jaunted]
]]> JetSetCD 2010-03-30T17:33:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/2/95732/70631

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived! Kind of. We mean, it's probably not the biggest piece of news ever, but it's exciting nonetheless and a step forward for USA rail travel when we say that Amtrak's Acela have free WiFi right now! They promised us that they'd have it flowing by March, and we're surprised to see that they were good on their word.

According to the AP, the free WiFi isn't just on the 20 Acela routes, but it's even at a few of their stations. You'll find a free Amtrak signal in the gate areas of Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, New York Penn Station, Providence Station and Route 128 Station in Boston. They also report that Wilmington Station will get it when they finish up their station renovations next year. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-03-02T10:34:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/2/10/205538/951

We're only one month away from the start of free WiFi on Amtrak Acela trains in the US, but like usual, the European train system has it beat.

Last month, we sought to take a train down to London from Edinburgh, and desperately wanted a train that offered a WiFi signal, so naturally we turned to book with Virgin Trains, which touts free WiFi in first class and paid access in coach. However, it turns out that their website will book any available train running the route and not just Virgin ones, so we were dismayed to find ourselves stuck with a ticket on an East Coast train, even though a Brit friend assured us that it would be nicer than if we had gone Virgin.

So was it nicer? Find out after the jump! ]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-11T09:40:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/1/12/14728/4186

Woo-hoo! Another victory for the modern traveler as Amtrak has named this the year of free WiFi aboard their Acela trains. To tell you the truth, we knew this was coming, even that it would be free, but we didn't know when it would be completed or if we could even count on it.

Well we can count on it! Amtrak announced that installation of WiFi on the Acela trains (which are the express routes on the East Coast) will be completed by March, as part of a celebration of the Acela's tenth anniversary of service. Other upgrades due for the trains include "leather seats and improved tray tables and power outlets." Score!

But who knows when we'll get to try out the WiFi and outlets; the Acelas are too damn expensive. Yeah right like we're paying $100 for a one-way to Boston when a WiFi and outlet-equipped BoltBus takes almost the same time and costs around $30. Keep trying, Amtrak, but we're proud of your achievements thus far.

Related Stories:
· Amtrak adding free WiFi on Acela Express Trains [USA Today]
· Amtrak Competes with In-Flight WiFi by Adding Internet to Acela in 2010 [Jaunted]
· Amtrak travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: pandoralyrael]]]> JetSetCD 2010-01-12T08:34:59-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/