On Train WiFi

[Esker-pades]

Of all places... Polsloe Bridge station in Exeter has WiFi... struck me as being odd as it seemed to be the only tiny station in the are with WiFi...

Every little station on the Looe Valley line (bar Coombe Junction Halt) has a small Wi-Fi router attached to the station building.
This is the one at St Keyne Wishing Well Halt as an example.

 

[jon0844]

Going up the WCML recently I was quite impressed with the LNWR wifi, a decent signal whenever I tried to use it between Euston and Tamworth

Indeed it's slightly bizarre that the "cheap" stopping service has a better wifi product for Standard passengers than the premium Virgin service.

On a 700 full of commuters, I wonder how many are using the Wi-Fi over their own mobile data? I'd guess that most Wi-Fi usage is to get laptops or tablets online, and on commuter trains (especially a 700!) there's less chance of a laptop being used than on an Intercity train.

There's only so much bandwidth to share, plus commuter trains may be more likely to travel in built up areas that are nicely covered by 4G with lots of spectrum on offer, which I would hope the most recent Icomera systems can take advantage of (carrier aggregation, 256QAM, MIMO etc etc).

Tl;dr - Intercity trains are likely to offer a poorer service than local trains, or buses.

A solution might be to have more SIMs/accounts, but while you may get a larger slice of the pie - you're still limited by what speeds are offered by the operator in that location. If it's a site with just 5MHz of 800MHz 4G, it will be slow, simple as.

 

[Mikey C]

On a 700 full of commuters, I wonder how many are using the Wi-Fi over their own mobile data? I'd guess that most Wi-Fi usage is to get laptops or tablets online, and on commuter trains (especially a 700!) there's less chance of a laptop being used than on an Intercity train.

There's only so much bandwidth to share, plus commuter trains may be more likely to travel in built up areas that are nicely covered by 4G with lots of spectrum on offer, which I would hope the most recent Icomera systems can take advantage of (carrier aggregation, 256QAM, MIMO etc etc).

Tl;dr - Intercity trains are likely to offer a poorer service than local trains, or buses.

A solution might be to have more SIMs/accounts, but while you may get a larger slice of the pie - you're still limited by what speeds are offered by the operator in that location. If it's a site with just 5MHz of 800MHz 4G, it will be slow, simple as.

I was partially commenting on the fact that for Standard it's free on LNWR whereas you have to pay on Virgin!

This was a LNWR 350 anyway, and the Crewe service isn't just a London commuter service, plenty of people use it to to go the other way for meetings etc I saw groups of work people travelling together with their laptops open

 

[Mikey C]

Every little station on the Looe Valley line (bar Coombe Junction Halt) has a small Wi-Fi router attached to the station building.
This is the one at St Keyne Wishing Well Halt as an example.

Wifi should be abolished on that line, and people (especially teenagers!) forced to look out of the window instead at the lovely scenery

 

[Ken H]

Yes, the last I read they just connected to the local phone network the same as your phone. The carriage can have a large aerial though so has a better chance of getting a signal.

What else could they use really?

railway GSM network?
that has 'leaky' cables through tunnels so coverage is 100% doesnt it?

 

[jon0844]

I was partially commenting on the fact that for Standard it's free on LNWR whereas you have to pay on Virgin!

This was a LNWR 350 anyway, and the Crewe service isn't just a London commuter service, plenty of people use it to to go the other way for meetings etc I saw groups of work people travelling together with their laptops open

Having to pay also regulates usage.

 

[EssexGonzo]

Some of the GA refurbished 321s appear to have wifi. It's rather rubbish though and the mobile reception between Liverpool Street and Shenfield seems to be better.

 

[HowardGWR]

some older phones that do not have wifi can still be used to tether to by using a wire between phone and tablet. You will have to google it.

Thanks very much, I'll have a look at that ASAP!

 

[robbeech]

I used TPE wifi for the first time today, as O2 was offline. I was surprised to find I couldn't access this forum as they use OpenDNS with a rule to block all forums and discussion boards. Seems to me like an odd choice of content to block.

I also used TPE Wi-fi for the first time on that day. I too noticed the block of the forum.

 

[HowardGWR]

Thanks very much, I'll have a look at that ASAP!

Update. My mobile phone is really, really old. I think the kind colleague Ken_H probably does not realise how old. It only as the ability to phone phone numbers, which suits me really (until now perhaps). I've gone through all the functions and they don't include anything that looks like a way to access an internet source.It's a Nokia with just a little screen on which you can dial a number. Oh, it can display messages but that's it.

Unless I have misunderstood........... but thanks away.

 

[Llanigraham]

railway GSM network?
that has 'leaky' cables through tunnels so coverage is 100% doesnt it?

As has already been stated, there is no connection with the GSM-R system and that does not provide any connection for on-train wi-fi.

 

[Belperpete]

Have to agree with previous poster that ATW's WiFi on the Cambrian line is surprisingly good, shame about the data cap which is quite low. I am told that if you move to another coach, and re-register, you get another lot. Certainly applies if you transfer to another unit, or if the guard resets the WiFi.

You can have WiFi for free in standard class on EMT if you sit in the coach that is half first and half standard. Unsurprisingly, the standard half of that coach tends to be quite popular!

Have always found the free WiFi at Derby station almost unusable. It takes sooooo long to register, if you even get that far.

 

[HowardGWR]

I found SWR wifi totally adequate, except when I get off the train at Southampton, that's the end of it. There is none on the station. What you need as a passenger is seamless wifi between getting off a train and getting on the next one - in other words the whole route "wifi'd". On GWR, I guess you have that - great -but changing at Exeter St Davids onto SWR, to Honiton for instance, means you have to change network.

 

[Blinkbonny]

I've found wi-fi at many surprisingly small stations, and have more or less come to expect it at larger ones.

But I've never yet encountered it at Birmingham New Street and am usually reduced to standing outside a sandwich shop.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

I think you've been very unlucky then. SWT, TPE, GC and LNER all have good wifi in my experience - and all of them are free. VTWC is hit and miss depending on location. I can't speak for many other TOCs.

On a 700 full of commuters, I wonder how many are using the Wi-Fi over their own mobile data? I'd guess that most Wi-Fi usage is to get laptops or tablets online, and on commuter trains (especially a 700!) there's less chance of a laptop being used than on an Intercity train.

AFIK the WiFi system on the Virgin Voyagers is old. Blog from 2016 says it is 3G. Maybe the ones that work better are simply newer. Shared 4G would be a lot better than shared 3G.

Currently, your device receives 3G from an onboard system that uses the everyday network of mobile phone masts. Each train is fitted with a number of Wireless Access Points that help to boost coverage across all of the coaches.

Connectivity along the WCML and North Wales line is better than it used to be both on the train and on my phone. The government spent proceeds of a fine on Network Rail for installation of cell phone towers in dead spots on the main lines.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28198237

 

[Parallel]

I've found wi-fi at many surprisingly small stations, and have more or less come to expect it at larger ones.

But I've never yet encountered it at Birmingham New Street and am usually reduced to standing outside a sandwich shop.

Mmm, I’m not sure any of the NR stations have it fitted actually (apart from Bristol TM) I know Paddington and Reading also don’t. As far as I know, WiFi is also not fitted at TfW stations either (though ATW installed it on every train - even 142s, 143s & 153s.) GWR have it at most of their larger stations but it is lacking at some of their interchange stations such as Westbury.

 

[Aictos]

Mmm, I’m not sure any of the NR stations have it fitted actually (apart from Bristol TM) I know Paddington and Reading also don’t. As far as I know, WiFi is also not fitted at TfW stations either (though ATW installed it on every train - even 142s, 143s & 153s.) GWR have it at most of their larger stations but it is lacking at some of their interchange stations such as Westbury.

As far as I am aware some Network Rail stations DO offer free wifi such as London Bridge, London Euston, London Marylebone, London St Pancras International, Glasgow Central with more of their stations to offer free wifi although no idea in what order.

There was a topic on this a few months back which can be read here.

Also since Network Rail are no longer in partnership with The Cloud they have entered service with another company called FreeStationWifi with a NR press release about London Bridge offering wifi here.

I hope this helps?

 

[Mikey C]

As far as I am aware some Network Rail stations DO offer free wifi such as London Bridge, London Euston, London Marylebone, London St Pancras International, Glasgow Central with more of their stations to offer free wifi although no idea in what order.

There was a topic on this a few months back which can be read here.

Also since Network Rail are no longer in partnership with The Cloud they have entered service with another company called FreeStationWifi with a NR press release about London Bridge offering wifi here.

I hope this helps?

Yes, I was surprised that the new St Pancras Wetherspoons had no wifi of its own (Wetherspoon use The Cloud) and instead I had to use the station wifi

 

[Aictos]

Does anyone know if Edinburgh Waverley offers wifi yet as not been there for a few years so expect a lot has changed.

 

[Ianno87]

Does anyone know if Edinburgh Waverley offers wifi yet as not been there for a few years so expect a lot has changed.

The Pret a Manger by the Platforms 12-18 barrier line has Wi-fi (handy for last week's O2 outage!). No general station wi-fi though.

 

[KashmireHawker]

CrossCountry have just announced Free WiFi is FINALLY now available on all sets!

"Its Been 84 Years!"

 

[Carlisle]

What you need as a passenger is seamless wifi between getting off a train and getting on the next one - in other words the whole route "wifi'd". .

Why would that be essential considering we’ve now got 4g, coverage for around 99% of U.K. population?

 

[mallard]

EMT wifi is only available on London services and is chargeable (except for 15 minutes) in standard and free in first.

Note that the "composite carriages" on EMT 222's are set up as "first class" as far as WiFi goes, so free access is available to the (lucky few) standard-class passengers in that carriage.

 

[swt_passenger]

railway GSM network?
that has 'leaky' cables through tunnels so coverage is 100% doesnt it?

The railway GSM network was AIUI barred from providing public connections, it was to do with planning consents. The GSM coverage for signalling purposes was considered permitted development.

 

[Aictos]

Why would that be essential considering we’ve now got 4g, coverage for around 99% of U.K. population?

But Geographical and Population coverage are two completely different things as @jon0844 can explain, one does not equal the other which is why EE is working towards 95% geographical coverage by 2020 even though they have 99% population coverage.

As to XC offering WiFi, its long overdue.

 

[Mikey C]

But Geographical and Population coverage are two completely different things as @jon0844 can explain, one does not equal the other which is why EE is working towards 95% geographical coverage by 2020 even though they have 99% population coverage.

As to XC offering WiFi, its long overdue.

But then the bits of the country which have poor mobile coverage are presumably the areas where hardly anyone lives, and few people visit by train anyway.

 

[apk55]

Metrolink Trams in Manchester have free WIFI. They also use the network as well for communicating with the trams or drivers so it must be reliable. At regular intervals on the overhead wire supports (typically every fourth) you can see a transmitter presumably for WIFI.

 

[londonboi198o5]

How did we cope all these years ago without mobile phones, WIFI and the Internet I wonder.
What’s the big obsession these days with having WiFi every millimetre we go

 

[theblackwatch]

How did we cope all these years ago without mobile phones, WIFI and the Internet I wonder.
What’s the big obsession these days with having WiFi every millimetre we go

I guess the same way that in previous years we coped without landlines, televisions, radios, cars and even railways....

 

[Mojo]

How did we cope all these years ago without mobile phones, WIFI and the Internet I wonder.

People didn't. People got lost, appointments got missed, people were late and the people they were meeting were left standing around wondering "what if."

What’s the big obsession these days with having WiFi every millimetre we go

Agreed. WiFi is a gimmick as it lets the Government and train operators say "we have invested £x Million in WiFi" rather than actually spending the money on stuff that matters. In this day and age of good quality mobile internet, WiFi isn't necessary, save for examples like the London Underground or rural areas with poor mobile data connection.