File photo of New Delhi Railway Station. (Reuters)
Passengers at the New Delhi railway station were meant to be able to access wi-fi starting today, but the plan has been delayed, said the government, because of a train accident in Uttar Pradesh in which five children were killed.
A statement today said that Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu was changing plans to visit the site of the accident, and to meet with the families of the children who died after a train crashed into their school van at an unmanned crossing 125 miles southeast of Lucknow
The minister was meant to launch the wi-fi service at the country's busiest train station today.
Passengers on all 16 platforms at New Delhi railway station would get 30 minutes of free wi-fi, after which they could buy "scratch cards" to extend the plan. "These cards are priced at Rs 25 for 30 minutes and Rs 35 for one hour and are valid through 24 hours," said an unnamed
official to the Press Trust of India.
Registration for wi-fi will be done through cellphones. Help desks are to be set up for passengers.
The total cost of the project is Rs 50 lakh and an amount of Rs 16 lakh will be spent annually to run the facility.
Wi-fi is meant to be introduced at 75 stations across the country over the next year.