Waverley Station set for unlimited free wifi

Passengers at Waverley Station will be able to use free wifi. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Scotland’s second busiest station, which is used by 25 million people a year, will be the latest of 38 across the country to be connected.

The system will offer faster speeds than the wifi provided on dozens of ScotRail trains, such as for playing video, and can cope with more than 300 people using it at the same time.

Haymarket and Edinburgh Park in the capital, and Glasgow Central - Scotland’s busiest - and Queen Street, are among stations already with wifi.

Inverkeithing and North Berwick are due to receive it in the New Year.

Free wifi is already available on all of ScotRail’s class 170 diesel trains, which operate on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line and between the two cities and Aberdeen and Inverness.

The firm’s class 380 electric trains also have it on the Edinburgh-North Berwick and Dunbar routes, and those between Glasgow, Ayrshire and Inverclyde.

A total of 40 of ScotRail’s class 158 trains, which include several routes from Inverness and in Fife, are also equipped.

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Dutch firm Abellio, which takes over ScotRail in April, has said it will honour ministers’ previously-announced pledge for all trains to be covered by December 2018.

ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery said: “Rolling out wifi to Scotland’s second most-used station is something we’re all very excited about, and it’s great to play our part in helping customers stay connected

during their journeys – whether for work or just to chat with friends.”

Juliet Donnachie, Network Rail’s station manager for Waverley, said: “Waverley has benefited from significant investment in recent years to improve access and passenger facilities, and the new wifi service introduced

by ScotRail will further enhance the experience of using the station.”

The Scottish Government has provided £3 million for rail wifi.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: “With our lives becoming ever more fast-paced, it’s important that people can do business and stay online while travelling, and that is one of the keys to having a rail network fit for the future.”

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