GNER is the first UK rail firm to offer passengers broadband internet

Train operator GNER, which operates the London to Scotland service, says the broadband service will revolutionise UK public transport.

Passengers will have the chance to sample the service from 1 December, when the first UK train to offer the "Wi-Fi service" starts running between London Kings Cross, Yorkshire, the north-east of England and Scotland.

The company has fitted a high speed train with a new wireless data communication system.

It will allow passengers with suitably-equipped laptop computers to access internet and e-mail services.

Static, land-based hot spots providing wireless access to broadband networks are becoming increasingly common, but GNER is the first UK rail company to overcome the problems which have plagued uninterrupted coverage while travelling at high speed.

The company has already conducted successful trials to establish the quality of satellite reception along the full length of the East Coast rail route.