PLANS to deliver ultra-fast fibre optic cable across 1,000km of major rail lines, including the GWR route from London Paddington to Penzance, promise to tackle notorious signal blackspots that currently cut short important work calls or family conversations.

The GWR line has been included in a public-private partnership agreement between Network Rail and telecoms companies Neos Networks and Freshwave. Project Reach will tackle signal blackspots in 57 tunnels, including the Polperrow and Buckshead tunnels near Truro, benefitting thousands of commuters in Cornwall.

Following an announcement by Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, Truro and Falmouth MP Jayne Kirkham said she was “delighted” at the news. She led a cross-party delegation of South West MPs in the autumn to see Lord Hendy about the disruption caused by the building of Old Oak Common, a new transport superhub in West London, and requesting superfast WiFi on the trainline to mitigation for the upheaval.

“I am delighted that commuters will finally be brought back on grid after having to put up with poor signal for too long,” she said. “Bad connectivity is not just a nuisance; it’s holding back businesses and keeping families apart.

“I know this will make a big difference to my constituents, many of whom use the railway network every day. I will continue working with ministers to deliver further improvements to transport networks in our area.”

Project Reach will initially see Neos Networks deploy 1,000km of ultra-fast fibre optic cable along the East Coast and West Coast Main Lines and the Great Western Main Line, with ambitions to expand beyond 5,000km.

Mobile network operators will also invest in new 4G/5G infrastructure at some of Network Rail’s biggest stations across the country. Work is expected to begin in 2026 and fully rolled out by 2028.