Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the Quicksilver project to build out wifi and mobile infrastructure alongside rail lines; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
Project Quicksilver was a rail industry procurement led by Network Rail to improve mobile coverage along railway routes for the benefit of passengers.
Despite receiving a number of positive bids, the industry was not able to find a solution that satisfied the commercial requirements of all parties and delivered the desired connectivity improvements. As a result, Network Rail terminated the procurement.
The Government recognises that dropped calls and intermittent access to the internet are frustrations felt by many rail passengers. We are working with the rail and telecommunications industries to reach a collective understanding of the technical and commercial challenges and the potential solution to this problem.
