Mind the gap – in mobile coverage: UK train signal to stay patchy till 2030

Minister pins hopes on low Earth orbit satellites to plug crap rail connectivity

Data-hungry rail passengers will have to wait until at least 2030 before getting something like universal mobile data coverage across the UK, a minister confirmed this week.

That might be a disappointment for trainspotters and commuters who were left excitedly looking down the track in June, when Network Rail announced plans and partners to roll out 4G and 5G on key lines by 2028.

But full(ish) coverage across mainline trains will only come via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, courtesy of a tender process that is just getting off the ground.

Lib Dem trade spokesperson Clive Jones asked the secretary of state for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) "what steps her Department is taking to help ensure universal mobile data coverage for passengers on the railway network?"

Kanishka Narayan, parliamentary undersecretary for DSIT, replied in a written answer on Tuesday: "Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030."

Trains tend to spend an awful lot of time outside populated areas. But DSIT's definition of populated areas is understood to extend to everywhere in the UK with people, including some remote areas visited by tourists.

Narayan added that under the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy the government was working with the Department for Transport, Ofcom and other regulators and transport bodies to assess the telecoms needs of the transport sector. The target for this exercise? 2026.

"The Department for Transport also recently secured funding to introduce low Earth orbit satellite connectivity on all mainline trains, which will significantly improve both the availability and internet data connection speeds for Wi-Fi connected passengers."

In June, the Department for Transport unveiled Project Reach, spanning Network Rail and telcos Neos Networks and Freshwave. These deals will see Neos Networks run 1,000 km (620 miles) of fiber-optic cable along the East Coast Main Line, parts of the West Coast Main Line, and the Great Western Main Line. Ultimate ambitions are to stretch cable beyond 8,000 km (5,000 miles) in the near future. Freshwave will light up signal blackspots in 57 tunnels, covering almost 50 km (30 miles).

Meanwhile, mobile operators will build out 4G and 5G infrastructure at 12 major Network Rail stations, making it much easier for commuters to check when their trains are delayed. The rollout will begin in 2026 and be completed by 2028, the June statement said.

Yet it seems it's LEO that will complete the data picture for passengers beyond those key routes. Buried at the bottom of the government's announcement of Project Reach was a reference to how it "builds on £41 million confirmed in the government's National Infrastructure Strategy to introduce low-earth-orbit satellite connectivity on all mainline trains, significantly improving both the availability and internet data connection speeds for Wi-Fi connected passengers."

Which is reassuring or not, depending on your definition of mainline. Hopefully, that means everything managed by Network Rail. According to a tender doc issued in August, the aim is "to upgrade the existing in-carriage on-train Wi-Fi equipment to the latest standards, provide low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet connectivity to enhance the existing mobile network operator connections, and hence deliver a more generally available higher speed internet connection for Wi-Fi-connected rail passengers."

The tender doc also says: "Our objective is to retro-fit the majority of Great British Railway train operators' mainline trains by 2030." How will this happen and when? You'll have to wait. An initial engagement exercise was scheduled to close last month, with follow-up one-to-ones after this date.

"Details of this requirement, such as a firm value approach to procuring and competition timelines are unknown at this stage and will be informed by the outcome of this engagement exercise," the doc says. ®