More Details on UK Plan to Eliminate Train Not-Spots

More information has been revealed on the UK government’s plan to eliminate so-called “not-spots” along some of the country’s main train lines. The much-vaunted Project Reach will, the government stresses, save the taxpayer some £300 million by using a mix of public and private sector investment.

The new scheme, which will start next year and should be complete by 2028, will see Neos Networks lay an initial 1,000km of ultra-fast fibre optic cable up the East Coast Main Line and along parts of the West Coast Main Line. In the future this may, or may not, be expanded by a further 4,800km.

At the same time, Freshwave has been commissioned to provide coverage in 57 tunnels. This equates to an additional 50km of track that has never been covered by mobile signal. The company will generate income to cover the invest,ent by selling access to the UK’s national mobile network operators.

Yahoo! News has helpfully provided an interactive map of the tunnels –the map can be accessed here (unless you are currently in a tunnel, of course) https://uk.news.yahoo.com/train-tunnels-wifi-blackspots-5g-map-124253332.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=YahooNewsUK .

The greatest concentration of current 'not spots' has been identified along the Chiltern Main Line, between London and Birmingham, and the West Coast Mainline, from London to Liverpool and Manchester in the North West.

Several sites have also been identified around Bristol, including the 4km Chipping Sodbury tunnel and elsewhere in the South West, particularly in Devon and Cornwall.

The most northerly area to see tunnel improvements is expected to be the Calton Tunnels, outside Edinburgh, on the East Coast Mainline and these will, in fact, be the only ones in Scotland to get coverage.

The final bill for the Project Reach is currently unclear. However, should the scheme be deemed a success, another 4,800km of track will be covered “in the near future”.

On-Train WiFi services, trackside communications systems and LEO satellite-delivered broadband will feature heavily at this year’s Traincomms Conference in London (www.Traincomms.com ).

The Main Sponsors for Traincomms 2025 are Icomera and Huber+Suhner, Westermo, Antonics, Galgus and Nomad Digital are also Sponsoring the Conference.

Xentrans, CGI, and Lantech are the Expo Sponsors

For more information on attending the 2025 Conference please contact [email protected]

The full programme for this year’s Traincomms Conference is available here: https://www.traincomms.com/#content2b