Why Britain's notoriously bad train wi-fi might soon be a thing of the past

Why Britain's notoriously bad train wi-fi might soon be a thing of the past 20 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Grace Dean BBC The BBC's Grace Dean checks wi-fi access on her laptop as she travels to Norwich by train I'm sitting on the 09:00 from London to Norwich and something unusual is happening: my wi-fi connection on board is largely stable. I can check my emails, message my team back in the office, and have clear audio calls. In the same carriage, Rebecca Kendall has also been able to crack on with work on her two-hour commute - but she tells me this isn't always the case. It's a story familiar to many rail passengers - but things may be about to get better. Rebecca, 36, takes the train about six times a month in her role as head of operations for a charity, and spends her journeys sending emails and instant messages as well as using software. The connection can be mixed, and sometimes the wi-fi "doesn't work at all", she says. On a typical journey, Rebecca estimates she can manage only about half the tasks she would normally be able to get through at her desk. When she has audio calls, she forewarns her colleagues she might lose connection. "I just wouldn't risk having an important video call," Rebecca says, citing how unstable the connection often is. "I would never plan one." Rebecca Kendall, powering through her workload on the train to Norwich, is grateful for a stretch of reliable wi-fi Many rail passengers in the UK will be familiar with the frustrations of on-board wi-fi. Sometimes it's impossible to get any connection, or the signal will be temperamental throughout the journey. Mobile data can be unreliable, too - especially when trains travel through tunnels. A 2025 report by network testing company Ookla ranked the UK's onboard wi-fi speed as 16th of 18 major European and Asian countries. Average speeds in the UK are 1.09 Megabits per second (Mbps), compared to 64.58 Mbps in Sweden and 29.79 Mbps in Switzerland, the report found. Away from the tracks, the average maximum download speed for UK households and small businesses is a much swifter 285 Mbps, according to Ofcom. This week, the government announced plans to boost train wi-fi speed and reliability over the next five years. Technology will be rolled out across 1,400 trains on mainline nationalised services allowing them to connect to low-earth satellites, instead of mobile networks. The government says it hopes to improve the availability of wi-fi from the current 50-60% to at least 90%, as well as increasing the speed between five- and 10-fold. The Department for Transport (DfT) says it plans to spend £57m on the project. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to formally announce the plans this summer. This follows a trial of satellite connectivity with operators including LNER, South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, as well as in Scotland . Under the current system, train wi-fi relies on the same 4G and 5G mobile network as passengers us