ScotRail Upgrades Highlands Trains with Faster Onboard WiFi

Scottish train operator ScotRail has today announced that they’ve launched a new 6-month trial alongside communications provider Clarus Networks, which will extend their Starlink (satellite) based broadband upgrade of onboard WiFi – this is to include six class 158 trains that travel along their Highlands routes in Scotland.

In case anybody has forgotten, ScotRail and Clarus Networks have been developing a solution to harness Starlink’s network of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for over a year (here). The setup was previously shown as being able to deliver low latency (~40ms) and download speeds up to 220Mbps while in-motion (this of course needs to be shared between multiple users).

The latest announcement reveals that six Class 158 trains, which will be in service in the north of Scotland from Inverness to Wick, Thurso, Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen, have been fitted with this equipment as part of another six-month trial.

The new trial is being supported by the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).

Benefits of the Service (ScotRail)

➤ Improved customer Wi-Fi service.

➤ Wi-Fi calling capabilities for customers and staff.

➤ GPS tracking of trains to enable joined-up public transport journeys.

➤ Live on-board CCTV access and download.

➤ Improved on-train journey information for customers.

Customers will know they are on an upgraded train when they see the on-train stickers and signage, and will also notice a new upgraded on-train Wi-Fi landing page when they connect.

Scott Prentice, ScotRail Strategy and Planning Director, said:

“The launch of this trial is fantastic news for our customers using services in the north of the country, and will have a very positive impact on their journey experience.

There has been a lot of hard work by our staff and our partner, Clarus Networks, to get to this point, and I am looking forward to seeing how customers interact with the new technology on our trains.

The project addresses the long-standing challenges we’ve had for train connectivity in the region, and we hope it will lead to a future roll-out of the technology across other rural routes in Scotland.”

The expectation is that this trial, if successful (seems likely), could lead to the roll-out of the technology across the remaining class 158 trains in the ScotRail fleet, which would cover other rural lines including the West Highlands, Stranraer, Dumfries and the Borders.

The outcome may also influence the inclusion of this technology in the procurement of new fleets and new trains in the future.