­East Midlands Trains passengers are now benefiting from better mobile phone coverage on trains to London following a partnership with Vodafone UK.

Special equipment is being installed on each of the train operators 27 Meridian trains to strengthen and improve mobile phone signal.

The first phase of the project has seen East Midlands Trains engineers in Derby install special mobile phone signal boosters to all six of the seven-car Meridian trains. These trains are used on key services to and from London's St Pancras railway station.

David Horne, Managing Director for East Midlands Trains, said: "This investment allows passengers travelling on our trains to stay in touch on their mobile phones whether they are working or travelling for leisure. Passengers using our key services to and from London will see the immediate benefits and by early next year, this enhancement will be rolled out across all of our 27 Meridian trains."

"Already, all of our trains to London have on-board Wi-Fi and by improving mobile phone signals this helps to enhance the customer experience and allow travellers to work even more efficiently or stay in touch [..] whilst on the move."