AIREDALE commuters travelling on Northern Rail’s electric trains will benefit from free Wi-Fi by the end of 2014.

The rail company has started installing the equipment as part of a joint initiative between Northern Rail, Leeds City Council, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

And BDUK (Broadband UK - an arm of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) has given £750,000 to the project.

This is the first Wi-Fi installation of its kind for Northern and will provide free Wi-Fi on the electric trains, which operate between Leeds and Skipton, Ilkley and Bradford Forster Square.

Rob Warnes, planning and programmes director for Northern, said: “We are really excited to be offering free Wi-Fi to our customers travelling on our electric trains in Yorkshire. We will launch the free digital connectivity at the end of this year.”