First Great Western has announced it will trial free WiFi on trains running between Paddington and the north Cotswolds, allowing passengers to check emails and browse the internet on their own WiFi-enabled devices.

The technology will be installed on five Class 180 trains, 25 vehicles, which will upgrade the current fleet running on the line, as part of a series of reliability and comfort modifications.

First Great Western Managing Director, Mark Hopwood said the company had been looking for an opportunity to introduce the technology for some time:

“The refresh of these trains has given us the opportunity to address modern work and entertainment needs. I am delighted that within the year customers will be able to read their emails, browse the web, or simply catch friends while on the move.

“As well as reliability improvements each of the trains has been extensively refurbished, allowing us to include the technology required to offer WiFi free of charge to passengers.”

WiFi is also available at a number of FGW stations through the public provider The Cloud.