I was in the midst of an intense online Scrabble game yesterday on the Gold Line when — predictably — we hit a cell phone dead spot for AT&T (and there are lots of them in L.A.) and I lost my Edge network signal and a chance to nab 36 precious points. On the other hand, Amtrak is asking firms to bid on a contract to supply wi-fi for all its trains, reports dailywireless.org. Some trains in the northeast and California have wi-fi but the national rail carrier wants to expand the service as a way to retain and attract customers.

Electronic clocks that tell passengers when the next train is arriving are starting to appear in subway stations in New York, reports the NYT. They’re not always very accurate and some passengers seem indifferent to them, having ridden the system in the big Apple for years without any electronic assistance. The story also looks a look under the hood to explain how the system should work.