Dorset Claims to be Deploying UK’s First WiFi-connected Steam Train
People travelling on the tourist focused Swanage Railway in Dorset (England), which is a heritage railway attraction that operates full-size steam and diesel passenger trains along the 5+ miles of line from Norden to Corfe Castle and down to the seaside town of Swanage, will soon gain access to onboard WiFi thanks to a new project.
The Dorset Council teamed up with tech company Excelerate Technology UK to bring mobile network and satellite-powered (Low Earth Orbit) public WiFi to Purbeck Park car park, the nearby Norden train station and on board the railway’s popular steam service from early 2025. The project is said to be part of the government’s Rural Connectivity Accelerator (RCA) programme.
The RCA has committed £163,021 of funding to support the roll-out, which will also enable the railway to adopt cashless payments (currently a problem due to poor mobile signal in the area), boost their social media presence and improve safety with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) WiFi calling available for staff, volunteers and visitors.
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Cllr Richard Biggs said:
“This is a groundbreaking project at Swanage Railway, which could help pave the way for better connectivity in the future.
Not only will it enhance the visitor experience for people using the railway, but it will explore how these technologies can improve services in remote areas.
It is a fantastic example of how we’re working towards a more connected and inclusive Dorset, ensuring that everyone benefits from digital innovation.”
Swanage Railway is said to contribute more than £15 million to the Dorset economy every year, but rising costs and falling visitor numbers have hit it in recent years. The railway’s move to go cashless in March 2024 has similarly struggled a bit due to many of the nearby rural areas being poorly served by fixed and mobile operators.
Still, £163k does seem like rather a lot of money for a public WiFi network, although fitting such hybrid equipment to a moving train and ensuring it works across the whole route does tend to be a bit more of a challenge than your usual site-specific deployment.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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£13,585 per mile (12 mile return route) who will pay for the ongoing running costs one wonders?
It’s a good idea, but the value is questionable.
I’m not sold on the benefit of deploying more public WiFi – including on trains. Surely directing funds towards better mobile 4G and 5G coverage is better?
Focus the masts antenna towards the track side and make this a key planning consideration for the mno’s when building new masts near a railway and that could be a workable solution, to a point, but…. you still have faraday cages and the laws of physics (rolling stock), tunnels, valleys and masts in the wrong locations to contend with – then who pays? and when would this be done? Stick a starlink terminal on the roof and blend with existing 4G5G add in tunnel wireless / 5G coverage and it could work seamlessly (all feeding the in carriage wifi), and for much less money.
163,021 to put a starlink on a train and in a car park? OK, couple of Ubiquiti access points too, but this is patently insane. That the tax payer is funding this while “we haven’t got any money” so need to raise taxes is beyond belief.
If this had been actual fibre in the ground along the line and a pair or neutral host 5G towers then that’d be somewhat acceptable.
Bring your Steam Deck and play Steam games on a Steam train.
Wouldn’t it be better to look out of the train window or inhale the scent of steam coal while travelling to and from Swanage? 🙂
Funded as a part of the Rural connectivity program. Not a good use of those funds in my view
Not required for a tourist attraction should never of been funded by the tax payer. Better to have used the funds elsewhere targeting blackspots near towns / villages in Dorset. Or better still put it towards social care for Dorset and have people who need it benefit.
Ridiculous use of public money when homes / businesses clearly need it more. What fantasy public purse world did this come from?