Funding for widespread Wi-Fi and mobile access on trains is expected to be among George Osborne's budget giveaways this week – and it could boost train travel as a side effect. Passengers who prefer quiet carriages will have to grit their teeth: in a move intended to boost national productivity, the chancellor will offer help for commuters who want to use their train journeys to catch up on work.
Of the 25 rail franchise operators, 12 still do not have an onboard Wi-Fi service, according to the Association of Train Operating Companies website. For example, the Heathrow Express offers Wi-Fi free to all passengers, while the Gatwick Express has none.
The cash will be used to install special equipment on trains with no Wi-Fi service, according to industry sources. A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment. The metal shell of train carriages tends to absorb mobile phone signals, but connections can be improved by fixing antennae to carriage roofs which receive outside signals from mobile masts and replicate them through a series of repeaters in the train.
Virgin Trains installed repeaters on its Voyager services in North Wales and on cross-country routes through a contract with Orange, and teamed up with Vodafone in 2008 to bring the technology to its high speed Pendolino trains between London and Glasgow.
A handful of franchises offer free Wi-Fi to all passengers, but most charge those travelling in standard class while giving the service away to first class passengers.
Source: The Guardian
