Arriva rejects train wifi, but will have it on buses

[merlodlliw]

link http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nor...ifi-but-will-have-it-on-buses-55578-29319066/

Usual drival from ATW, pay us or else, ATW probably realise they have a better chance of keeping the buses, than the next TOC

 

[trentside]

Arriva aren't big fans of installing Wi-Fi on their trains, even when it's a franchise commitment. Presumably this isn't the case for ATW.

 

[SS4]

Arriva have had WiFi on the 110 Birmingham - Tamworth bus for months now so perhaps they were trialling it?

Would the signal be strong enough in Wales outside the urban areas?

 

[krus_aragon]

Would the signal be strong enough in Wales outside the urban areas?

There are significant dead spots in GSM/UTMS coverage between Cardiff and Bridgend, as well as in the Chepstow area for starters. The BBC's recent work on charting 3G coverage will give an idea of availability across the network.

The router on board a wifi train would presumably buffer outgoing requests for a few seconds when popping through a tunnel, but these blackouts seem to last several minutes at a time on my phone.

 

[starrymarkb]

On bus kit is relatively cheap. At it's most basic it would be a Mi-Fi device like this...

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...&sa=X&ei=toBbTt66LcawhAfw5Ygi&ved=0CG8Q8wIwAQ

A train would require much higher bandwidth as most wifi users on a train would have laptops, on a bus you'd be looking at tablets/smartphones as the main user

 

[anthony263]

I am surprised stagecoach cymru have managed to get the wi-fi working on their service X4 Cardiff - Merthyr - Brynmawr - Abergavenny - Hereford considering it passes through some narrow valleys.

In fact its so popular that it is likely to be fitted on other services such as service X3 Cardiff - Cwmbran - Abergavenny etc. I am surprised i that Wifi isnt installed on the trawscambria services yet, although the WAG are supposed to be wanting it installed on the new vehciles for service 704/T4 Cardiff/Merthyr Tydfil - Brecon - Llandrindod - Newtown

 

[185]

I have some understanding of the usual stupid question TOCs ask?

Why should we pay for something when there's no guarantee we're keeping the franchise?

Answer:
- Well, you certainly won't keep the franchise thinking like that. If it improves passenger numbers and generates more income, what's the issue?

 

[Erniescooper]

I've just been reading the same story on Wales online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...g-out-on-the-wi-fi-experience-91466-29319791/ and in the comments section it mentions that Network Rail have sold off spare bandwidth for GSM-R to the phone companies which would make Wi Fi on trains redundant , is this the case?

 

[WatcherZero]

It depends on the location, in areas with little rail traffic there is substantial unused bandwidth but they have found in high service areas there isnt even enough GSM-R bandwidth for the existing trains use. This presents problems for the upgrade to higher ERTMS levels in the future.

 

[airwolf21]

ernie, that was me on wales online. ATW have been briefing staff via the Team brief session held every few months on this. It seems network rail have made a very nice return on selling off the spare bandwith for not only mobile internet but for calls as well. ERTMS is years away for south wales and the only thing these masts have to do in the mean time is deal with the new yellow brick mobiles we've got for signaller contact between newport and caldicot/severn junnel area.

 

[ChrisCooper]

I have some understanding of the usual stupid question TOCs ask?

Why should we pay for something when there's no guarantee we're keeping the franchise?

Answer:
- Well, you certainly won't keep the franchise thinking like that. If it improves passenger numbers and generates more income, what's the issue?

Really? Since when has TOCs performance at a franchise effected their future franchise prospects. Beyond when a company really drops out of favour (usually for political or financial means like Connex or NX), new franchises seem to be done on a totally clean sheet. You can win train operator of the year for 2 of the last 3 years of the franchise and still not win, as happened to Anglia. On the other hand many TOCs have been unpopular and come under heavy critisism from passengers yet retained or had franchises extended.

Sadly this does mean that a TOC isn't going to want to invest unless it's going to see a return before the end of the franhise, as it's going to have little or no effect on it's bid, infact it worsens the bid as it's one less thing they can commit to as part of the bid, whilst you've wasted investment that you could use in the bid for the new franchise.