India, Sept. 30 -- For millions of Mumbaiites who spend hours every day on Central Railway locals; dropped WhatsApp calls, slow internet and buffering videos are part of the daily grind. Even using the railways' own apps - whether for booking tickets or checking train status - can be painfully slow because of poor network inside trains.

That might soon change as the Central Railway (CR) has begun testing a new communication technology called Optical Ground Wire (OPGW), which promises to drastically improve mobile connectivity along its entire network.

On September 28, CR general manager Dharam Veer Meena inaugurated a pilot project at Asangaon, Thane district. The system has been installed on a 110 kV transmission line, where OPGW cable...