Arriva Netherlands launch on board WIFI service

Arriva Netherlands have launched a complimentary on board WiFi service providing on the move connectivity for the first time, much to the delight of their rail passengers.

Asje van Dijk, Anne Hettinga and Hubert Knulst (Nomad), at the Arriva WiFi launch yesterday.

The new service was unveiled today at Sliedrecht station, when Anne Hettinga, Managing Director of Arriva Netherlands, Asje van Dijk, Deputy of Zuid-Holland and Lidewijde Ongering, the Director of General Mobility of L.M.C., gathered to celebrate the launch, with design and installation partner, Nomad Digital.

Anne remarked “We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers such a high quality on board service, which will only enhance the journey experience.”

The WiFi service is provided and installed by Nomad Digital, the global leader in the provision of broadband data solutions to the transportation sector. The contract was awarded in October 2010 at a value of 133K Euros, and builds on Nomad’s other train deployments in Holland. Funding has also been provided by the Ministry of Transport.

Nigel Wallbridge, CEO of Nomad Digital commented “This marks a real enhancement to the passenger experience, and we are thrilled to be providing Arriva with a first class service. The Nomad system is an extremely valuable platform on which they can build other on-train applications, so we look forward to a continued working relationship with them.”

The WiFi service is now available on seven of the trains comprising the Arriva MLL fleet – soon to be extended to 10. Now travelers on the route from Dordrecht to Geldermalsen can benefit from seamless connectivity across 3G networks and enjoy download speeds of up to 5.5 megabits per second.

Thanks to the robustness and versatility of the Nomad platform, plans to introduce innovative features, such as an on train portal, providing real time journey information, are already underway.