Elizabeth Line at Woolwich to get mobile phone coverage next spring

Elizabeth Line passengers at Woolwich will get mobile phone reception on trains and in the station next spring, Transport for London has confirmed.

All four networks – Three, O2, EE and Vodafone – will be available when the signals go live across the central section of Crossrail, from Paddington to Abbey Wood and Stratford. The first stations to benefit will be  Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street, which will be switched on at the end of the year. The others will follow by the end of spring.

Coverage will also be extended to the Docklands Light Railway and the London Overground between Highbury & Islington and New Cross within the next two years, TfL said.

The coverage is part of a deal between TfL and the company Boldyn Networks to provide 4G and 5G connectivity to the Tube and Elizabeth Line networks, which has now been extended to the DLR and Overground. Stations on the eastern end of the Jubilee Line, including North Greenwich, have long had 4G signals, and these will now be upgraded to 5G as part of the deal.

TfL made the announcement as coverage in ticket halls and tunnels on the Central Line between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road went live this morning, bringing mobile reception to the Tube in the West End for the first time. Some parts of the Central and Northern lines also already have signals.

TfL hopes 80 per cent of the Tube and Elizabeth Line networks will have coverage by the end of next year, with about 500 people working overnight in the tunnels to install more than 2,000 kilometres of cables. The system will also host an emergency services network, giving first responders the ability to communicate and share images.

Andy Lord, London’s transport commissioner said: “It’s great to see the first Tube stations in the West End getting high-speed mobile coverage on their phones within the station, as part of the next stage of our project with Boldyn Networks to bring 4G and 5G to the whole Tube network. 

“We are committed to delivering this programme which will allow customers to be more connected underground and get the latest travel information and news, as well as stay in contact with work, friends and families while travelling on our network. 

“More stations, including the first Elizabeth Line stations, will be connected in the coming months and we remain committed to having a significant proportion of the entire Tube network connected by the end of 2024.”