Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on ensuring that free Wi-Fi is available on (a) the Uckfield line and (b) other Southern Rail services by 2017.

The Prime Minister announced in February 2015 that four franchises would benefit from the reinvestment of a Network Rail penalty of nearly £50m to provide free Wi-Fi for passengers. This included Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), who operate the Southern trains under the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise.

GTR are currently developing a proposal for the introduction of free Wi-Fi on all train fleets operated on their network, including the trains which operate on the Uckfield Line, which will be assessed by the Department for both affordability and value for money.

Subject to agreement with GTR, Wi-Fi services will be rolled out over the next 2 years, so trains can be fitted with minimal disruption to passenger services.