RAIL users in mid Wales are set to benefit from free wifi on all Arriva trains and at Aberystwyth Railway Station after a multi-million pound investment programme was completed ahead of schedule.

Passengers boarding anywhere from Pwllheli down to Machynlleth and Aberystwyth across to Shrewsbury and Birmingham will all be able to take advantage of the free wifi facility.

Phase one of the project, which was funded by with nearly £2.5m of investment from the Department of Transport, has seen all class 150, 158 and 175 trains receive the investment which will let passengers connect to the internet while travelling.

It is hoped the investment will prove a major economic boost for the area, allowing people to work whilst travelling.

And Aberystwyth station is also set to benefit from free wifi as part of phase two of the project which will be funded by the Welsh Government.

All Cambrian line trains are Class 158s owing to the ground breaking ERTMS signalling system, which was a first for the UK.

The work means that passengers travelling on 87 of the 127 trains operating the Wales and Borders network now have this facility.

The installation has been taking place at ATW’s Machynlleth and Canton train maintenance depots over the last few months in partnership with the supplier, Icomera.

The wifi system has been fully operational throughout the installation programme and has already started to receive positive feedback from ATW customers.

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