Raise the alarm: operators are trying to improve Internet access on trains
Mobile operators are trying to improve the quality of communication for railway passengers. They started equipping train cars with signal amplifiers. This will improve access to the mobile Internet on those sections of the route where there is coverage of base stations. However, now mobile communications are working normally only on 30% of Russian railways, so installing amplifiers, although it will affect the quality of communication, will not be a panacea, experts explained. It has been impossible to provide train passengers with normal Internet access for several decades. Why this is happening and how much the initiative of the operators will change the situation is in the Izvestia article.
How trains are connected to the Internet
By the end of 2026, cellular and Internet signal amplifiers will be installed on all Aurora trains running between Moscow and St. Petersburg. They are also planned to equip the Burevestnik trains on the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod route. The work is being carried out as part of a project by MTS and the Federal Passenger Company (FPC) to improve the quality of mobile communications on long-distance trains, Izvestia found out.
Telecom equipment in the form of repeaters and a radiating cable will be included in the design of the wagons, which will allow scaling solutions on various long-distance routes, MTS said. The operator plans to connect to the Internet and other areas.
The trial operation of the first Aurora train showed that 4G services are available to passengers on 96% of the length of the Moscow – St. Petersburg route. Amplifiers are also installed on all Sapsan trains in this direction — they provide a reliable signal for 55% of the average daily passenger traffic, the company added.
Other telecom operators are implementing similar projects.
— We are actively testing repeaters on the rolling stock of several Lastochka-type trains. After receiving the results, we will evaluate the further scaling of the project," T2 representative Daria Kolesnikova told Izvestia.
Technical development along the railways is aimed at giving customers the quality of communication they are used to in everyday life, this is especially true on popular business routes, she stressed.
Beeline provided stable cellular communication in all Sapsan trains and worked out a technical solution for the Swallows, the company noted. In the near future, it is planned to begin the phased implementation of repeaters on these trains, which will significantly improve the signal quality for subscribers, they promised.
MegaFon offers a ready-made solution for improving train communication based on NaaS technology. These are specialized devices that provide an Internet channel in motion and enhance the communication signal. They have already been tested on several routes and with different scenarios, the company's press service said.
What prevents all railways from being connected?
The availability of communication and mobile Internet for train passengers depends primarily on whether the route is covered by the signal from the base stations. But the quality of coverage varies greatly depending on the destination, region and specific operator, said Oleg Yablokov, NTI expert on wireless communications. The situation is generally better on main routes, but there are still areas with unstable or no connection between large settlements, in forested and sparsely populated areas, he stated.
— The problem is not new. Although operators are building base stations along transport corridors, it is difficult and economically costly to ensure continuous high—quality coverage: the railways are very long, and trains are constantly moving between the service areas of the base stations," Oleg Yablokov explained.
The first attempt to provide long-distance train passengers with communication was made in 1996. Then several radio telephones were installed on Aurora trains, on the route between Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, there were very few people willing to buy a card and make a phone call, and the experiment was curtailed.
The next attempt at Russian Railways telephony was made in 2009. Various wireless technologies were tested in railway transport: GSM, VSAT, Wi-Fi. On the Moscow–Petersburg and Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod routes, Inmarsat satellite equipment (Explorer 250 station), VSAT satellite communication stations (SpeedRAY 1000 antenna), and equipment for receiving 3G signals from major operators' networks were installed in test wagons.
The results showed that Inmarsat satellite systems provide low data transfer rates, and 3G coverage in these areas is too weak.
According to Oleg Yablokov, amplifiers can improve signal reception inside wagons — this is a relatively fast way to improve the quality of communication where there is already an external signal. But the repeater does not solve the problem of lack of coverage: if there is no base station signal near the railway, there is simply nothing to amplify, the expert pointed out. Therefore, the most effective solution remains a combination of infrastructure development along the tracks and technical solutions directly on the trains.
Indeed, there are "blind spots" on certain stretches between railway stations, in sparsely populated and hard-to-reach areas where the communication infrastructure is poorly developed and the terrain creates additional obstacles to signal propagation, the Ministry of Digital Affairs noted. On the busiest routes — for example, the Trans–Siberian Railway, Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow – Kazan — coverage is much better, they say.
Providing continuous coverage along thousands of kilometers of railway tracks, especially in sparsely populated areas, requires significant investments from telecom operators, the ministry explained.
— There are also technical features of the passage of a radio signal through railway trains, which dictate increased requirements for the network infrastructure. To resolve the issue, a number of steps are being taken both by the state and by telecom operators and Russian Railways: the development of infrastructure by telecom operators, the installation of additional base stations along the busiest highways, the use of special cellular signal amplification technologies, and others.
Currently, cellular communications cover about 30% of railways, the press service of Russian Railways told Izvestia. The main barriers to providing passengers with communications were the significant construction costs of the infrastructure that provides it and the low payback for the provision of services.
— Russian Railways is proactively and systematically working to improve the quality of Internet access services, including in cooperation with mobile operators. However, repeater equipment for relaying a cellular signal inside the train can significantly improve the quality of communication if there is at least minimal cellular network coverage, which, alas, is far from everywhere, the company's press service noted.
How satellites can help solve the problem
Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research, believes that the only option to provide ubiquitous and fast Internet on trains is satellite communications from non—geostationary orbit. Theoretically, this can be done with the help of existing satellite groupings — the British OneWeb (for example, it is used by the Kazakh railway operator KTZ) or the American Starlink, the expert argues. But in the current geopolitical situation, this is impossible.
Therefore, the Federal Passenger Company focuses on cooperation with Russian companies in this matter. First of all, this is Bureau 1440, which is creating the Russian low—orbit constellation of Rassvet communications satellites.
"On the sidelines of SPIEF 2026, the FPC and Bureau 1440 approved a plan for the introduction of satellite communications in long—distance trains and signed a roadmap for the project," the FPC told Izvestia.
Specialized subscriber terminals will provide broadband Internet access at any point along the route. It is planned to equip more than 130 trains with such equipment, Russian Railways explained to Izvestia.
But the Rassvet satellite constellation is still at the initial stage of deployment, and the optimistic deadline for the launch of a commercial service is the end of 2027, Leonid Konik said.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
