Objective

In the increasingly competitive passenger transport market, East Coast views on-train Internet connectivity as one of its major competitive differentiators. Real-time broadband Internet connectivity throughout its fleet is enabling East Coast to fulfil a large number of its business goals including improved passenger services, rail staff communications, and on-board systems monitoring.

East Coast carries millions of business travellers every year on the flagship route that runs between London, Newcastle, Edinburgh and the north of Scotland. The Wi-Fi service has significantly enhanced the travelling experience for these passengers, maximising productivity during the four hour journey between London and Edinburgh. East Coast's pioneering deployment of onboard broadband services underlines its ongoing commitment to pioneering progressive new passenger services and helping to encourage a shift away from less productive modes of transport such as planes and cars.

Challenges & Solution Description

East Coast trains carry up to 500 passengers at speeds up to 125mph (200kmph) through 400 miles of urban, suburban and rural areas. The Icomera Moovbox M800 was identified as the only solution that could deliver the level of service required in the challenging environments. By combining up to eight 3G/HSPA modems with a broadband satellite link and implementing Icomera’s patented seamless switching technology, East Coast passengers can enjoy high speed Internet access throughout their journey.

Results & Next Steps

In late 2007 East Coast the then franchisee, National Express East Coast, made the decision to offer the Wi-Fi for free to all classes of passengers; previously the service had been free only for First Class passengers. Within two months usage had jumped from 10,000 sessions per week to over 30,000. Alan Hyde, head of communications at East Coast said at the time, “We expect to see even bigger increases in the future, as more of our customers switch on to the benefits of being able to work - or maybe just enjoy a leisurely browse of the internet - while travelling at high speed.” According to figures from the rail company, 85% of laptop- toting passengers opt to use the free service at some point during their journey along the East Coast.

Usage of the onboard Internet service has grown consistently since its launch and today the overall uptake of the Wi-Fi service among all East Coast passengers is in excess of 12% with more than 200,000 sessions per month. Since December 2007 the Wi-Fi service has been used several million times with an average session time of 70 minutes.

In addition to Wi-Fi on the trains, Internet access is also available in the First Class lounges at the stations themselves. Steve Soards, station manager for East Coast Mainline at York said “A major advantage of choosing the train over alternatives such as driving or flying is the ability to stay connected to the internet throughout the journey. For business passengers our Wi-Fi creates a productive mobile office, with the ability to send and receive emails as well as to access the internet. Staying online throughout a journey can mean the difference between clinching a deal or losing out.”

Beyond passenger broadband East Coast is already leveraging the always-on Internet connection to develop new business and operational applications. Business-critical systems such as onboard catering and ticketing now benefit from a robust, secure real-time connection for sales transactions. Icomera has also implemented a solution for real-time engineering alarms. Looking to the future, East Coast plans to further exploit the Icomera fleet-wide IP network for innovative passenger and operational services. The Icomera deployment on the East Coast railway has been the recipient of multiple rail and ICT industry awards. Beyond passenger broadband East Coast is already leveraging the always-on Internet connection to develop new business and operational applications. Business-critical systems such as onboard catering and ticketing now benefit from a robust, secure real-time connection for sales transactions. Icomera has also implemented a solution for real-time engineering alarms. Looking to the future, East Coast plans to further exploit the Icomera fleet-wide IP network for innovative passenger and operational services.

The Icomera deployment on the East Coast railway has been the recipient of multiple rail and ICT industry awards.