Looks like JR is going to add some new toys to their bullet trains:

Passengers on the famous Japanese Shinkansen “bullet trains” will be able to surf the Internet while traveling at 300 kilometers per hour, thanks to a new service planned by the railway operator. But there’s going to be quite a wait until the first wireless LAN-equipped trains arrive at the platform.

Central Japan Railway (JR Tokai), which operates the Shinkansen service between Tokyo and the western Japanese city of Osaka, said it plans to offer wireless Internet service throughout all cars of its new N700-series trains in early 2009.

As cool as WiFi-equipped bullet trains are, why is it going to take almost 3 years to implement?  How long does it take to install a few wireless LAN hubs in some trains?  Am I the only one that read this article and was suprised with the 2009 service date?