King’s Cross mobile 'breakthrough' will keep passengers connected

East Coast Main Line passengers can soon stay connected, following ‘one-of-a-kind’ upgrade work inside tunnels outside London King’s Cross station.

The joint project, funded by LNER is delivering new mobile phone infrastructure into inside Gasworks and Copenhagen tunnels, and has reached an important milestone, with the installation of a bespoke antenna. It's expected that ‘most customers’ will be able to maintain direct voice and data access to their mobile providers later this year, keeping their calls connected and meetings online, with the removal of connection ‘dropouts’ when travelling through the tunnels.

The tunnels are expected to be the first on the country’s operational railway fitted with the solution, which is to be installed by rail connectivity and technology integration specialist Linbrooke, following testing at Network Rail’s Innovation and Development Centre.

A view from the platform end of Kings Cross station as engineers and technicians gather at Gasworks tunnel to install signal-boosting technology.

Ben Lynch, Managing Director at Linbrooke Rail said “We are delighted to be part of this exciting project which will transform the passenger experience on LNER trains. Delivering new technology and rail infrastructure is at the heart of the Linbrooke business. The location and environment of this project will add to the challenge, but the collective team have made a good start on the construction phase, and I look forward to seeing this continue.”

A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said “Virgin Media O2 is focused on improving the network experience for our customers wherever they are and closing any “not spots” that exist for them. This project will help to ensure they are able to get quality mobile coverage on the move and enable them to stay connected when leaving and approaching London King’s Cross Station.”