To think free wifi on trains is not a low priority for passengers?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65673622

Being reported that the government thinks free wifi is a low priority for passengers so could be cut to save money. Maybe I am out of step, but I really appreciate it, especially on long journeys. I don't watch TV or films, just browse the net on and off and use Whatsapp. Is it really impossible to have a properly staffed train service running more or less to time and also offering free wifi?

Yeah - the Birmingham cross country route has terrible coverage.

I’ve been in Spain and France recently and all of their long distance trains have decent Wi-Fi (though not for streaming), and all seem to have good mobile data coverage including and metros.

But people often have a choice of whether to drive or take the train. Considering we are being encouraged to use public transport more often, and the fares are ridiculous, then they need to consider why people would choose to use the train over driving. For lots of people in bigger cities I'm sure there will be plenty of reasons why the train is more convenient but its often far easier to drive in less populated areas.
WiFi wouldn't be enough to make someone change from driving to using public transport but for me its a sign of something that really shouldn't be that difficult to provide but they just can't be bothered making sure we have a decent public transport service! I regularly commute and can't access WiFi or use my data, can't find a seat, never know if the train is going to turn up etc and yet they still keep increasing fares.

I use train wifi, used it today...
I am pretty sure the ticket collectors rely on it, too.
I could get by without it but I'd miss it.

Would make working on train a lot harder on longer distance journeys, I would have to upgrade the data package at my own expense (work sure won't pay for it).

Free wifi isn't very secure at all. It's a hackers paradise.

I have no interest at all in being online on a train. I regularly travel 3-4 hours by train, and read books/newspapers, look out of the window, listen in to other people's conversations and construct fantasy lives for them, and feel irked by how many people are staring at their devices in an online world, when the real world is there for the taking. I haven't got any devices, btw. If I'm not at home, I can't get online. I seem to cope.

My desiderata are: a train that turns up when it's supposed to and isn't either catastrophically late or on strike; a seat; and a clean loo with soap and water. A buffet car which isn't failing to serve either hot or cold drinks is also a plus.

It’s not worth government or train operators investing money in - it’s reliant on the same transmitters (or whatever - I don’t know the right term) that provide 4G/5G anyway so there’s no real advantage over just using your data plan, it doesn’t work any better.

I avoid free Wi-Fi like the plague, it's insecure, so it's no loss to me personally.

It's very low priority for me as it's a high risk for hackers.

Pretty much everyone I know who has been hacked has traced it back to use of public WiFi on a train, cafe, airport etc. Most workplaces forbid it as it is a big security risk.

The majority of people with a mobile device already have mobile data

public networks are notorious for being a security risk I would never use one hacking and fraud is rife on them

free wi fi is advantageous for some but I e class it as essential thats how I’d describe heating and lighting

Considering the reference to WiFi not being a passenger priority comes from a survey that placed reliable WiFi (and also phone / data) connectivity in 23rd place out of 25, then it does show that it is not a priority for passengers.

That isn’t to say that it is not used or of some value to passengers, but 22 other things are more of a priority to passengers

https://d3cez36w5wymxj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/08151105/Britains-railway-what-matters-to-passengers-FINAL.pdf

I always fine the signal for phone data really crap on trains. So I consider wifi quite important even though trains rarely have it!

well... I'm quite happy to have a reason not to work on "work" journeys, anyway, I suppose. Being paid to do Sudoku for 2 hours suits me.

Because it gives the telecoms companies an opportunity to charge for something extra.

It's an example of how low the bar is for this government.

If you compare it to the train turning up and getting you where you need to be then yes it's a low priority. If the trains were reliable it'd be a much higher priority. On board WiFi is of no use when you're stood on a platform waiting for a train that may or may not turn up.

The government is talking out of its arse. Free WiFi is a byproduct of the systems that allow trains to communicate maintenance issues with Control and provide a GPS location to enable the train to report its own timekeeping within long Absolute Block sections. Removing it won't save a penny.

Watch out for what they might be tryong to sneak in while you're all distracted by this though.

This.

I still optimistically look to try and use the train rather than driving every now and then, but the cost is so eye watering it is never worth it.
The whole maze of trying to find a cheaper ticket is a nightmare for anyone but the experts.
Then, if you do decide to pay out £££ for a train, some lines have such poor reliability you'd wish you hadn't.
Free wi-fi would come very low on a long list of things I'd want to sort about trains.

I guess compared to having trains that turn up and the cost of tickets it is a lower priority. However, that's because the rest of the service is so shit. The epitome of shitness though, is when on an overcrowded, severely delayed train there's no mobile signal or wifi to distract, work or plan alternative routes.

If we had decent mobile coverage across the network it would be okish not to have wifi, part from foreign tourists and those who can't afford unlimited data. But anyone who travels by train will tell you that is plagued by mobile notspots. What we actually need is much better coverage to encourage business workers back onto trains.

It is low priority for me because the reality is that the WiFi is too shitty for streaming and the money needs to be spent on infrastructure not upgrading the free wifi bandwidth.

I was just on a train from Aberdeen to London and there are 2 lines for the trains. One was undergoing emergency engineering works. And so disruption, delay we were shunted to the backup line. And then a freight train ahead of us caught on fire and snapped an axle. Found this out after sitting in a stopped train for an hour and a half. Then had to jam like sardines in a train to Sheffield to get a train to London. Nightmare.

And this is happening far too often. It is clear to me that the train companies have been skimping on maintenance of the railway lines and trains and we are a whisker away from a very fatal derailment and tragedy if we don’t wake up and prioritise what is really important when it comes to our trains.

We are not a rich country. We are skint. We need to cut the nice to haves because trains that don’t catch on fire or snap axles are a bigger priority than free wifi that can stream Netflix.

Yes the train needs some wifi or cellular real time communication of its own, but that’s not going to be the massive volume of data bandwidth you’d need to build in (and pay for) for train plus 1,200 passengers!

Onboard a train you are effectively sat in a poor Faraday cage. The aerial for the WiFi on the other hand will be located outside so will have a better chance of a signal in weaker areas.

Just how much money does it actually cost?

I don't think you know what a Faraday cage is if you think a train is any kind of one, poor or otherwise!

Free WiFi on trains never works

Looking down that list I can't see that the government is going to do anything about the higher priorities either:

1. Prices - no chance of this government cutting fares.
2. Reliability and punctuality - Network Rail announced the other day that the railway will become less reliable because the government is cutting maintenance budgets
3. Frequency - the government wants to cut frequencies, XC is still running at 50% for example
4. Information - Euston's departure boards are going to display info about fewer trains in order to fit more advertising space in.
5. Getting a seat - providing enough seats for everyone would cost money. The government would rather people wedged themselves into the vestibules because it's cheaper. If anyone wants a practical demonstration, spend a day at Prestatyn on a Monday or Friday during the summer.
6. Security onboard - the government has been plotting for years to get rid of guards where they still exist.
7. Information about disruption - see above about staff cuts
8. Security at stations - more staffing cuts coming.
9. Speed - can't get anywhere quickly while TSRs proliferate due to maintenance cutbacks.
10. Cleanliness - more staffing cuts on their way