not free as you have to buy a train ticket on the first place! Otherwise you could have posted 'free seats and toilet facilities onboard GWR trains' (in the case of seats, subject to availability).

Full bars everywhere on the train, catch is that a strong WiFi signal doesn't mean you'll get a good experience, that comes down to which part of the countryside you're going through and especially, how crowded the train is.

Where is the best place to sit to get best performance, is there an iPhone app to show signal strength, not just bars.

you get a virgin code if you book through them, east coast main line is good bit west coast is hopeless

even 3G is faster than the wifi. I travel GWR everyday between home and work, otherwise Heathrow connect.

should be free anyway considering the amount they charge from reading to paddington, peak time is over £51 return for a 25 min 30 mile journey

as to whether this should be in Freebies, I also travel on X-Country. You have to pay extra for wifi. Of course, it may actually work...

In the run up to the official release it was great, used to stream Netflix easily, but since it's live - over a year now - it's barely functional.

Except that people onboard GWR trains who this deal might be of interest to, have mostly already bought a ticket. Other people who want free wifi can use the cloud etc elsewhere. But once you're onboard, the wifi is available for no further charge.

eg Soreen bite cakes at asda, or free screenings at manchester studios - free maybe, but most people have to pay for petrol, bus fare, parking etc. They're only free once you're there. Likewise, this is free once you're onboard, unlike PAYG mobile data. Free electric toothbrushes at Waterloo - as I don't commute, I would need to spend £20 to get there. But for people who commute there anyway, this is useful information.

Surely the spirit of "it must be free" is that people are not spending the money for the deal itself, rather than as incidental expense which puts them in the position of the deal being useful. Otherwise, where is the home category for this on HUKD? it's not a voucher, it's not a deal because you wouldn't buy a train ticket when you wanted wifi, but it is useful enough for people to be made aware of it.

That said, the HUKD guidance is very clear! " Free items included with a purchase are considered deals, since a purchase is still required." But I guess if you're near a station and need wifi briefly, a very nearby train can be used without a purchase! You don't need to show proof of purchase to use the wifi, you just need to be near enough to use it. It does leak outside a train by quite some distance.

Unless things have recently changed, HUKD has always stipulated that in order to qualify for the 'freebies' section, the item has to be genuinely free, with no requirement to pay anything in order to obtain the item. This clearly doesn't meet that requirement as you have to buy a ticket to get the item. So it isn't 'free', is it?

In the West Country on train journeys I've long ago discovered that as soon as you see open fields, all mobile coverage disappears. The rail companies should be thinking of a higher tech way to get data to moving trains.

I tired it in Cornwall at the start of September. downlaod speed was 0.0mps and upload was 0.1mps

This shouldn't be in the freebies section as you have to buy a ticket.

Travel every Saturday in Cornwall, wifi is utter crap on the high speed trains,constantly disconnects, even the ticket inspector agreed,she couldn't even use it for Facebook,
It's a good deal, if only it worked tho!

I travel on GWR trains every weekday to Paddington. I never connect to the wi-fi as I find it virtually useless.

very unreliable. I live in Devon. some of the commuter trains have wifi, it's not just limited to intercity. however service is very intermittent. still, if you want a way to pass the time on a train journey, messing around with your wifi settings is as good as anything!
I think railways have their own communication network (tetra) which could/should mean they could always provide a connection.

Meaning was that the WiFi is part of the package the customer buys when buying a ticket, hence not free as you are probably paying for it anyway. If it was properly free, it would be paid through other (people's) purchases. The cost of the WiFi is not included in any smartphone/laptop purchase. :man:

Likewise, you would need to but a smartphone/laptop to utilise the wifi :man:

not free as you have to buy a train ticket on the first place! Otherwise you could have posted 'free seats and toilet facilities onboard GWR trains' (in the case of seats, subject to availability).

It's terrible. There is a quota per user and once that is gone it doesn't work. Usually useable first thing in the morning in good signal areas but then no good.

Thank you buglawton.