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Major New Poll Shows Passenger Attitudes to On-Train WiFi …
(29 Jan 2024, BWCS Staff)Half of all train commuters in the UK, surveyed in January 2024, now believe that WiFi is essential for their journeys. The figures come from a comprehensive piece of research conducted by Uswitch.com, which interviewed over 2,000 regular rail users.
Importantly, the findings seem to fly in the face of recent UK government arguments that train travellers rate WiFi low on their travel wish-lists.
According to Uswitch, 41%of British commuters say they “rely on on-board WiFi” during their commutes, with nearly a third of all travellers using the service for work purposes. However, it is not all good news for the train companies with 70% of the passengers who responded agreeing with the statement “I often experience WiFi interruptions on my commute.”
The operators with the best ratings for fast and reliable Wifi in the UK, according to the research are: Eurostar, London North Eastern Railway and Grand Central. Meanwhile, c2c, London Overground, Caledonian Sleeper, Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry fared worst amongst those interviewed.
Uswitch points out that despite the Department for Transport’s seeming froideur on WiFi on trains, the public remains in love with it. Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, commented “Train operators are under ongoing public scrutiny, and prices are set to go up once again in March this year. It will come as no surprise that there’s a lot of attention on value and satisfaction when it comes to train travel - and WiFi connection on board is becoming a non-negotiable when it comes to consumers’ journeys.”
Interestingly, despite their obvious reliance on train WiFi, only 17% of the travellers questioned said that they would be willing to pay a separate charge in order to experience a guaranteed good connection during their journeys.
In recent years, Network Rail, train companies and mobile operators have spent a combined £53 million on improving trackside coverage in the UK.
In fact, just this month, LNER, one of the highest ranked train companies in terms of good WiFi, announced it is installing improved coverage in two crucial tunnels along its East Coast route. The train company, along with Network Rail and major mobile operators are installing a bespoke solution to eliminate two of the largest not-spots on its route - the Gasworks and Copenhagen tunnels just north of King’s Cross station.
The project, funded by LNER and its partners, has undergone rigorous testing at Network Rail's Innovation and Development Centre, and will, they say, ensure seamless integration with existing infrastructure.
There is more information on the on-train WiFi survey at https://www.uswitch.com/
The future of on-train connectivity and on-board WiFi services will again be the main focus of this year’s global WiFi on Trains Conference, Traincomms 2024 (www.Traincomms.com ).
For further information on the event and how to get involved please contact: Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com
The latest programme will be available here http://traincomms.com/#content2b
Traincomms Tickets http://traincomms.com/book1.cfm
Traincomms 2024 is being sponsored by Huber+Suhner, Westermo, Rajant and Icomera. Oxyfi, Antonics and Polomarconi will be exhibitors.
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