Streetwave Test Mobile Data Performance on London to Sheffield Train

Network analyst firm Streetwave has today shared the results from a recent survey they conducted, which tested the mobile broadband coverage and performance of 4G and 5G networks – including EE, Three UK, Vodafone and O2 – while travelling along the Midland Main Line (MML) from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands.

The rail route involved in this study typically connects London St Pancras to Sheffield, stopping at stations including Leicester and Derby on the way (the journey lasts about 2 hours and 23 minutes). More than 25 million passengers use the Midland Main Line each year.

Streetwave is understood to have taken their portable data collection equipment onboard for just one of these trips, thus the results below should be considered fairly anecdotal, albeit still interesting. The test itself was conducted on 2nd June 2025 and started at 5:32pm from London St Pancras, with the train being mostly full during the journey.

For those with an interest in such things, the train itself was a Class 222 Meridian model operated by East Midland Rail (EMR). As usual, all the mobile operators were measured and their Essential Coverage scores across the journey have been pasted below.

Streetwave defines Essential Coverage as being reflective of locations where the network provides users with speeds of above 1Mbps download, 0.5Mbps upload, and below 100ms (milliseconds) of latency (i.e. covering or allowing only the most basic of use cases / needs).

Essential Coverage Scores

1. Vodafone – 29%
2. EE – 26%
3. Three UK – 19%
4. O2 – 17%

Put another way, the company’s simulated passenger on each mobile network spent the following amount of time WITHOUT a dependable internet connection on the journey: Vodafone – 1 hour 42 minutes, EE – 1 hour 46 minutes, Three UK – 1 hour 56 minutes, and O2 – 1 hour 59 minutes. We also get some scores for mobile broadband speed.

Median (Average) Download Speeds

1. EE – 11.2Mbps
2. Three UK – 3.7Mbps
3. Vodafone – 3.5Mbps
4. O2 – 1.9Mbps

Overall, Vodafone and EE seem to do the best for mobile coverage, while EE was the clear leader in terms of mobile broadband speeds. But equally none of the mobile operators did brilliantly and O2 was particularly poor. Clearly this is one line that may be ripe for future improvement.