People travelling on the tourist focused Swanage Railway in Dorset (England), which is a heritage railway attraction that operates full-size steam and diesel passenger trains along the 5+ miles of line from Norden to Corfe Castle and down to the seaside town of Swanage, will soon gain access to onboard WiFi thanks to a new project.
The Dorset Council teamed up with tech company Excelerate Technology UK to bring mobile network and satellite-powered (Low Earth Orbit) public WiFi to Purbeck Park car park, the nearby Norden train station and on board the railway’s popular steam service from early 2025. The project is said to be part of the government’s Rural Connectivity Accelerator (RCA) programme.
The RCA has committed £163,021 of funding to support the roll-out, which will also enable the railway to adopt cashless payments (currently a problem due to poor mobile signal in the area), boost their social media presence and improve safety with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) WiFi calling available for staff, volunteers and visitors.
Cllr Richard Biggs said:
“This is a groundbreaking project at Swanage Railway, which could help pave the way for better connectivity in the future.
Not only will it enhance the visitor experience for people using the railway, but it will explore how these technologies can improve services in remote areas.
It is a fantastic example of how we’re working towards a more connected and inclusive Dorset, ensuring that everyone benefits from digital innovation.”
Swanage Railway is said to contribute more than £15 million to the Dorset economy every year, but rising costs and falling visitor numbers have hit it in recent years. The railway’s move to go cashless in March 2024 has similarly struggled a bit due to many of the nearby rural areas being poorly served by fixed and mobile operators.
Still, £163k does seem like rather a lot of money for a public WiFi network, although fitting such hybrid equipment to a moving train and ensuring it works across the whole route does tend to be a bit more of a challenge than your usual site-specific deployment.