Wi-Fi at railway stations will be available to any user who has a smartphone with a working mobile connection

All 15 railway stations in the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, have now been integrated with the public Wi-Fi Network of Indian Railways that covers 6,021 stations across the country.

Announcing this development on World Wi-Fi Day on Sunday, the Ministry of Railways said these 15 railway stations are spread over four districts – Srinagar, Budgaon, Banihal & Qazigund.

The stations where public Wi-Fi is provided under the brand name of RailWire are: Baramula, Hamre, Pattan, Mazhom, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Avantipura, Panzgam, Bijbehara, Anantnag, Sadura, Qazigund, Banihal.

Wi-Fi at railway stations will be available to any user who has a smartphone with working mobile connection for KYC considerations.

Wi-Fi was already available at 15 railway stations in the Jammu region. These stations are Kathua, Budhi, Chhan Arorian, Hira Nagar, Ghagwal, Samba, Vijaypur, Bari Brahman, Jammu Tawi, Bajalta, Sangar, Manwal, Ram Nagar.

The task of providing public Wi-Fi at all the Railway stationswas entrusted by the Ministry of Railways to RailTel. "The vision was to convert the Railway platform into a platform for digital inclusion," the railway ministry said.

The Ministry of Railways pointed out that access to Wi-Fi not only connects communities but also opens up a world of opportunity for innovation and growth.

This year’s World Wi-Fi Day celebration stresses on the need to accelerate access to affordable Wi-Fi to bridge the Digital Divide. India has a stark Digital Divide between Urban and rural India.

RailWire Wi-Fi at stations is helping to connect the unconnected as more 5,000 stations of this public Wi-Fi network are located in rural India with poor connectivity, the ministry said.

In his message on the occasion, Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal said, “Today, on World Wi-Fi Day, I am delighted to announce that Srinagar and 14 stations of the Kashmir Valley have become a part of one the largest integrated public Wi-Fi network in the world connecting 6000+ stations across the country. With this, all the stations of Valley now have public Wi-Fi. It is a crucial step for Digital India mission and will go a long way in connecting the unconnected.”

Commending Indian Railways for achieving this commendable feat, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said, "I am very happy to note that 15 stations in the Kashmir Valley in Jammu & Kashmir are now live with are now live with RailWire Wi-Fi. This will be an added amenity for the people of the region and the country.”