The internet on UK trains is so unreliable that astronauts on the moon can achieve download speeds more than 100 times faster than the minimum benchmark for ‘good’, according to new analysis from experts at Good Business Travel.
The company compared UK rail connectivity against Ofcom’s benchmark for reliable internet performance (5Mbit/s) and found that not a single UK train journey consistently meets the regulator’s standard.
With onboard Wi-Fi often hit and miss, many passengers switch to mobile data instead. But Good Business Travel’s analysis shows that mobile networks also struggle to keep travellers connected, with some of Britain’s busiest rail routes only offering usable connections for a few minutes – we probably don’t need to explain the concept of “tunnels” to anyone that regulalry travels the Manchester to Yorkshire routes.
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Measuring mobile connectivity from Plymouth up to Inverness, Good Business Travel calculated how much of each journey achieved Ofcom’s definition of ‘good performance’ across all major UK mobile networks.
The worst-performing routes included Sheffield to Doncaster, the seconf worst in the country, where passengers receive a usable signal for only 12% of the trip, equating to around 3 minutes of connection.
Taunton to Leeds found that only 13% of the journey achieved OfCom’s benchmark, while, and this may sound silly, but London to manchester (7th worst) and London to Glasgow (8th) both made the bottom 10 too.
No surprises to learn that all of the best-performing routes involved London, but there was at least some “good” news with Liverpool to York making the top 10 at a whopping 40% connectivity.
Natasha Inglis, client experience director at Good Business Travel, said: “Millions of people travel by train every week expecting to work, stream, message friends or simply stay connected. Instead, they’re met with frozen video calls, emails that won’t send and endless buffering.
“While improvements to Britain’s rail connectivity have been promised by the government, passengers still have to deal with unreliable coverage every day.
“There are a few tricks that can help in the meantime. Many people don’t realise that sitting on the side of the train facing nearby towns or major roads can improve your signal because you’re closer to mobile masts.
“It’s also worth switching your phone to 4G instead of allowing it to constantly search for weak 5G signals, which often makes connectivity even less reliable on moving trains.
“And for travellers who need guaranteed connectivity, satellite-enabled mobile services are beginning to roll out, meaning staying online during traditional signal blackspots could soon become much easier.”
