Mobile internet speeds to increase across UK rail network

Mobile internet speeds are set to increase across Britain’s rail network, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced.

By 2019, it is expected that 70% of train passengers will have access to high-speed mobile broadband, with passengers beginning to notice improvements to their journey during 2015.

The industry funded programme marks the “beginning of the end of poor coverage on our railways,” according to McLoughlin.

Speaking to the BBC, a Network Rail spokesperson said that if rail is to remain a preferred mode of transport, the issue of mobile communication and connectivity must be addressed.

“As an industry, we recognise that the limited availability of mobile communications on Britain’s rail network is not good enough,” the spokesperson said.

Mobile signal on trains will be improved by a combination of an upgrade of Network Rail’s existing infrastructure and the installation of equipment that alleviates the barriers to good signal on board a train.

Network Rail plans to increase the number of mobile phone masts to fill gaps in signal coverage, and will incorporate signal boosters inside carriages so that passengers can benefit from surplus data capacity.