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Written question asked by Dan Norris (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 10 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 July 2026. It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Great Western Railway: Mobile Phones

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of mobile signal coverage on GWR trains.

Answer

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of mobile signal coverage on Great Western Railway (GWR) services. However, the Department has secured funding to deploy low earth orbit satellite technology on mainline trains which will significantly improve the on-train Wi-Fi for rail passengers, this will include long-distance services across GWR. Pending final Treasury approval, Officials at the Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) are planning to begin the procurement and design work for this in the second half of this year. DFTO is also repeating an exercise to capture the measurement of 4G and 5G signal strength across the rail corridor and expects the full data to be available early in the new year. This will be published online.

The Peninsula Taskforce and GWR successfully trialled enhanced Wi-Fi on an Intercity Express train, using low earth orbit satellite technology. The trial demonstrated significantly stronger Wi-Fi connectivity, higher data capacity and received positive feedback from passengers.

Network Rail’s Project Reach will also address mobile coverage in 57 tunnels across the rail network.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
17696
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Mobile phones Great Western Railway
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk