UK rail users to get high-speed mobile broadband

70 per cent of the travelling public to benefit from better coverage by 2019

The UK's rail industry is to roll out high-speed mobile broadband across the rail network.

The plans, which will be funded by the rail industry, were announced by the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, who said that people would eventually see the end of poor mobile coverage on UK rail networks.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "As an industry, we recognise that the limited availability of mobile communications on Britain's rail network is not good enough.

"If rail is to remain a preferred mode of transport, this must be addressed, which is why today's announcement is good news for the millions of people who travel by train each day."

The overall benefits, Network Rail said, would be:

• A better customer experience;
• New revenue leads for operators;
• Better operational capabilities; and ultimately,
• A reduction in costs of the railway.

The rollout ought to be completed across 30 per cent of the network by 2019 - this would cover about 70 per cent of the travelling public.

However, Network Rail is not intending to do this alone, and will initiate a procurement process to find suitable partners, including mobile network operators who are said to be keen to pursue this.

That process is scheduled to begin shortly.