04 Oct 04

Only three months after launch, UK train operator GNER is looking at a fast return on its new on-board WiFi services. According to the company not only are passengers using the service, provided by Icomera, in increasing numbers, but GNER claims more passengers are switching to First Class seats where the high-speed wireless connections are provided for free.

According to the train operator’s own figures, use of the on-board WiFi service is currently growing at 77% across the board, with growth among First Class passengers more than doubling on a weekly basis. GNER also says that 2.5% of Standard Class WiFi users have upgraded to First Class tickets. The amount of time that each user is spending online has also grown - from an average of 45 minutes in June to around 70 minutes per person at the end of August.

The service, which is available to both First and Standard Class customers, is provided by creating an on-board wireless network using WiFi technology. The on-board network can then connect to the wider internet using a combination of satellite and mobile network links to provide a constant communications service.

GNER research carried out earlier this summer among the company’s first class passengers found that 67% said that they would definitely use the service again and 88% said they would recommend it to colleagues. The same research found that 25% of respondents would travel more often with GNER if it was available on all trains.

The on-board service is being provided by an Anglo-Swedish partnership between UK-based Sea Containers Rail Services (SCRS)- an affiliate of GNER - and Swedish wireless pioneers, Icomera – the first, and still the only, company to have developed commercially available wireless internet access services for train operators.