New Wi-Fi gateway makes all the right connections

A screenshot of East Coast's new Wi-Fi welcome page, showing live real-time train running and connections information for rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway services

Train operator East Coast today launches a new welcome page for its popular Wi-Fi service – the first of its kind in the UK rail industry – placing live travel and connections information at passengers’ fingertips.

A screenshot of East Coast's new Wi-Fi welcome page, showing live real-time train running and connections information for rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway services

The new real-time Wi-Fi landing page, which passengers see when they first log onto the train operator’s on-board internet service, links with the National Rail Enquiries database and East Coast’s own train running data and satellite feeds to keep passengers informed of any expected delays ahead of the train.

The page also links with National Rail’s database to provide live, real-time information in an instant on connecting local and regional rail services at each of the East Coast train’s calling points along its route, up to 45 minutes after its scheduled arrival time.

An instant snapshot of service availability on the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway is also displayed thanks to a live link with Transport for London’s database – ideal for business travellers using these services on arrival at London King’s Cross.

East Coast hopes the new gateway page, which has been five months in the making, will make rail travel a smoother and more relaxed experience by keeping passengers informed with up-to-the-minute information throughout their journey.

All the live feeds on the page are brought together by Swedish communications service provider Icomera , allow the system to deliver travel information specific to each individual service and present it directly to any Wi-Fi enabled device on-board.

East Coast Finance Director Tim Kavanagh said: “The introduction of real-time information to the Wi-Fi landing page is the first of its kind in the UK rail industry, and is a great way that our customers can now keep up dated with the latest details on their journey.

“The combination in one page of arrival and departure times at the stations on the route, the current location of the train and any delays caused by problems further up the line, plus information on connecting services, will be a great way for our passengers to be fully informed as they travel.

“East Coast is working hard to improve information for our customers: in addition to the Wi-Fi landing page we are planning to introduce real-time information via on-board electronic posters in the next year.”

For further information about East Coast train services and facilities, please visit www.eastcoast.co.uk.