Commuters wanting to make phone calls or surf the internet on mobile devices are being thwarted by "dead zones" on London's rail network, a study has found.
One in three attempts to access the internet on mobiles fails on trains, while one in seven phone calls are unsuccessful, according to research by network analysis company Global Wireless Solutions.
London's worst offending station for mobile signal was found to be St Pancras, followed by Radlett and Kentish Town.
The best of the four major networks - also including O2 and Three - for accessing the internet on overground lines were EE and Vodafone, the study revealed.
Vodafone subscribers were found to get the best 3G data service while commuting, with the network revealed as the most reliable and with the fastest download speeds. EE offered the best 4G data service, it was revealed.
Meanwhile Three was found to be the best provider for those wishing to talk their way through their commutes.
The study was conducted by engineers who travelled on the top 10 most popular train routes in and out of Londonusing a variety of devices on several sim cards from each of the four major networks.
Paul Carter, chief executive of GWS, said: “Pressure from commuters makes it inevitable that trains won’t keep their status as mobile dead zones for much longer. It’d be great to see networks, rail operators and station-masters taking the lead on improving connectivity for commuters – rather than having to be dragged into the 21 Century kicking and screaming.”
