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Mobile Phone Coverage on Main Lines
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43096
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It’s not known as “the desert” for nothing!
The issue on the MML is that the meridians having a lining in the window glass which kills the mobile signal.
mangyiscute
Established Member
I wanna be able to see for example if this train and/or my next train is late plus what platform to run to when making a tight connection.
rower40
Member
- Joined
- 1 Jan 2008
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I’m continually impressed that the mobile phone system can cope with an entire trainload of phones being handed over from one cell to the next, and the next, at 125mph or above.
and heaven forbid people try to work on the train, to make the money to pay for the expensive ticket
MrJeeves
Established Member
I've got an interesting (to me) map on one of my websites showing where networks have advertised not-spots on the railway:
mastdatabase.co.uk
Some networks exaggerate figures more than others, though.
Railway coverage not-spots | mastdatabase.co.uk
Everywhere on the British railway network marked as not having "indoor" 4G coverage.
mastdatabase.co.uk
Some networks exaggerate figures more than others, though.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
It drops in and out all the time on Manchester to London services. Probably the window sizes on Pendolinos don't help!
I was surprised to have excellent reception throughout the Scottish leg of a trip to Edinburgh on TPE earlier in the year. Even when I couldn't see a single house in sight!
I was surprised to have excellent reception throughout the Scottish leg of a trip to Edinburgh on TPE earlier in the year. Even when I couldn't see a single house in sight!
ServerHoster
Member
the Trent Valley line is not that great, also between Crewe and Stafford it's particularly bad in my experience.
Doesn't it vary by network provider, though?
I always used to find EE good between Euston and Crewe, I tended to use it in preference to the on-board wi-fi.
Now I'm with O2 I might find it less good than I used to.
ServerHoster
Member
Probably, I'm on ID which uses the 3 network.
duffield
Established Member
I've just got a new budget (ish) phone (same price range as the old one, £200 approx) and it copes with the Meridians/Class 222s much better than the old one did. At a very rough guess, for London to Nottingham it's improved from getting a usable signal only 70% of the time to around 90%. That's on O2 (Tesco Mobile) anyhow, don't know about the others.
1D54
Member
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- 1 Jun 2019
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- 541
Never had any problems on the MML with the Meridians.
Stampy
Member
Always struggled to get a phone signal on the WCML whilst in a Pendolino
Totally the opposite when in a 350 on the same route...
Totally the opposite when in a 350 on the same route...
MrJeeves
Established Member
All the 9-car pendos have mobile coverage repeaters inside, but the 11-cars don't (well they might, and could still be recorded under their old 0xx unit numbers). All the (current) XC voyagers do too, I believe.
Full list of units below, but the data (from early 2020) is a bit old now and they could have removed them during the Avanti refurbs, for example.
Full list of units below, but the data (from early 2020) is a bit old now and they could have removed them during the Avanti refurbs, for example.
Failed Unit
Established Member
ECML South of Stevenage is dreadful, I wonder what my veiw will be once they have enabled signal in all the tunnels.
mike57
Established Member
An interesting map. Looking at my local area the coverage map pretty much agrees with my experience.
Tunnels and deep cuttings are always going to be a problem, however one intersting spot is the Standedge Tunnel, for many years 3 network has worked from the Manchester side until well over 2 miles in due, I assume, to the mast being aligned with the tunnel.
DLyle44004
Member
Coverage through the Severn Tunnel is pretty bad. 
Don't the Pendos have/suffer with a similar coating? Either mobile signal or GPS, can't remember which!
MrJeeves
Established Member
EE actually have a leaky feeder (launched October 2018) through the tunnel broadcasting 2G and 4G.Coverage through the Severn Tunnel is pretty bad.
It's for the Emergency Services Network only, but it used to be the case that if you started a call before going into the tunnel, the network would inadvertently hand you over to the ESN 2G and let you continue the call through the tunnel.
Sadly that seems to have changed in the last year or two.
YorksLad12
Established Member
Interesting to me as well, confirms the patchy signal I get either side of Wakefield. Then again, with a Voyager, I can be sat at Sheffield or Wakefield stations with no signal until we clear the platform.I've got an interesting (to me) map on one of my websites showing where networks have advertised not-spots on the railway:
Railway coverage not-spots | mastdatabase.co.uk
Everywhere on the British railway network marked as not having "indoor" 4G coverage.
Some networks exaggerate figures more than others, though.
When I used to travel by coach with a football team there would always be not-spots along the M1. The places where you need a good signal (coach, train, up a mountain) are the places with the worst coverage.
That’s interesting. Mine is an iPhone and it only generally works in the vestibules and (uselessly for me!) the driving cabs. In the saloon it does seem to vary by unit from no mobile data at all to a slow but usable connection.
Not sure as I don’t travel on them enough. I don’t remember having any issues with mobile data last time I travelled Birmingham - London.
lookapigeon
Member
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- 18 Dec 2009
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- 92
3 coverage between London and Birmingham, not bad. Seems the sheep of the Chilterns get good reception! Only the occasional dropout going into tunnels/cuttings etc, then again that is to be expected.
I remember c.10 years ago once you left Petersfield until you came out of the other end of the tunnel and into outer regions of Portsmouth the only coverage you could (barely) get was Vodafone.
I remember c.10 years ago once you left Petersfield until you came out of the other end of the tunnel and into outer regions of Portsmouth the only coverage you could (barely) get was Vodafone.
Peregrine 4903
Established Member
Milton Keynes to Euston is pretty hit and miss. Particularly Leighton Buzzard to Milton Keynes.
alxndr
Established Member
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When I worked on that line we had to acquire a second phone using the Vodafone network rather than the standard O2 that we ended up referring to as the B&H phone. It had marginally better reception but still wasn't fantastic.
There were a couple of times where lack of phone signal caused us issues, especially when there was a mast fault which made it worse than usual. We were trying to fault find at Bedwyn at one point and had no mobile reception at all. Trying to communicate with the signaller to help trace the fault ended up involving me on the signal post telephone one side of the line, my teamleader in the doorway of the relay room the other side, and a third person actually working and shouting messages back and forth between each other.