Photo by Kevin H..

Amtrak has announced a “major expansion” of its on-board Wi-Fi service, moving it beyond the Acela train and on to a number of more widely used and affordable alternatives.

This phase of Wi-Fi expansion includes Northeast Regional trains, the most popular Amtrak service, which operates daily between Virginia and Boston, and the heavily traveled Empire Service (New York – Albany – Buffalo) and Keystone Service (New York – Philadelphia – Harrisburg, Pa.)

Other routes now with Wi-Fi include: Carolinian (New York – Raleigh/Cary, N.C.), Downeaster (Boston – Portland), Ethan Allen Express (New York – Rutland, Vt.), the New Haven – Springfield Shuttle and Vermonter (Washington – St. Albans, Vt.)

Wi-Fi also is installed on four other routes as part of this expansion, but only in select cars marked with hotspot window stickers because these trains are made up of different types of equipment: Adirondack (New York – Montreal), Maple Leaf (New York – Toronto), Palmetto (New York – Savannah, Ga.), and Pennsylvanian (New York – Philadelphia – Pittsburgh.)

In a press release, Amtrak says that while Wi-Fi has long been a priority, the bottleneck has been limited bandwidth on many routes, which is “currently provided through third-party cellular data networks located along the tracks.” (A train conductor had told DCist editor-in-chief Aaron Morrissey in late September that the service would roll out on October 1.)

This is all good news, especially for those who get stuck on a delayed train and the cranky politicos among us. But, as Greater Greater Washington has reported, not the entire Internet will be free for your perusal — Amtrak has installed content filters.