The routes set to benefit from train Wi-Fi boost – mapped

The Wi-Fi on Britain’s trains is set to be upgraded under government plans to overhaul the system across the rail network.

More than 1,400 trains across the UK will be equipped with new technology to allow passengers to stream videos, download files and join video calls, The i Paper understands.

The technology will allow trains to connect to low-earth satellites, which ministers say will provide faster and more reliable service than the mobile networks currently powering on-board WiFi.

A government source told the BBC the upgrade would “rocket boost connectivity on every main line train in Britain over the next few years, tackling both slow speeds and irritating not-spots”.

Another scheme, “Project Reach”, will involve new line-side fibre optic cable fitted to more than 70 tunnels and areas without mobile signal to prevent blackout spots.

Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, is expected to announce the plans this summer and the first trains will be upgraded within months as the country’s rail network transitions to Great British Railways.

LNER and TransPennine, which serve routes with notoriously patchy service, will be the first to benefit from the upgrades, it has been reported.

As individual trains are upgraded they will run across all of the routes operated by these rail operators, a government source told The i Paper. Wi-Fi will remain free to use and will not affect ticket prices.

LNER runs services from London through the North East and into Scotland, passing through key cities including Peterborough, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen.

TransPennine runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland.

The most popular routes serve Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and Huddersfield.

The technology will be rolled out across nationalised main line services using funding worth £57m.

Most rail operators are nationalised and once their contracts expire, the remaining firms will be brought into public ownership – in line with Labour’s manifesto pledge. South Western Railway, c2C, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway have all been nationalised.

LNER, South Western Railway and Great Western Railway have already trialled satellite connectivity.

The Government aims to improve WiFi availability across journeys from between 50 to 60 per cent to at least 90 per cent and prove more effective than the current system of relying on 4G and 5G signal provided by local mobile network operators’ masts.

Once the plans are rolled out, average download speeds are expected to increase five times to tenfold.

Wi-Fi technology is 10 to 15 years old and has not been upgraded. The current set-up means that if the external mobile signal is poor because the mobile operator’s mast is far from the railway line, the overall Wi-Fi service will be poor or, in rural areas, non-existent.

Using satellites would help address the fact that mobile signals can drop out due to overwhelming demand on some telecoms masts, particularly during rush hour.

Britain’s connectivity problem

Cross Country has the worst-rated onboard Wi-Fi in the country, according to Bionic.

Southwestern Railway was rated second-worst, followed by West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and Greater Anglia.

Previous research by the Department for Transport highlighted that passengers only receive good signal 54 per cent of the time.

Average 4G data speeds are only 3.3 Mbps per directly-connected passenger, and for passengers using WiFi just 1.4 Mbps.