Europe‘s long-distance rail network is entering an increasingly connected era, but a new industry benchmark suggests the next challenge is no longer simply getting passengers online. It is giving them something useful to do once they are connected.
A 2026 European Rail Onboard Entertainment Benchmark by France-based Moment examined 48 long-distance rail brands across 26 European countries, covering services with typical journeys of at least 90 minutes. It found that Wi-Fi is already available on 44 of the 48 operators, while only 10 operate a full onboard entertainment platform.
The figures point towards a growing gap between connectivity and the passenger experience built on top of it.
Wi-Fi Is Becoming The Baseline
The benchmark found that 92% of the rail brands surveyed provide onboard Wi-Fi, with 42 of the 44 operators offering it free of charge. Only OUIGO France and OUIGO España were identified as charging passengers for access.
That is a significant shift in the role of onboard internet.
Wi-Fi was once a premium feature that could distinguish one long-distance service from another. Across much of Europe’s rail market, it is increasingly becoming an expected part of the journey.
For travellers, the basic question is therefore changing from “Does this train have Wi-Fi?” to “How good is the digital experience once I am connected?”
Entertainment Still Has A Large Gap
The answer remains inconsistent.
Moment’s benchmark found that just 10 of the 48 operators, or 21%, offered a full onboard entertainment platform. Four additional operators had partial platforms, leaving fewer than 30% of the surveyed brands with either a full or partial entertainment proposition.
This distinction matters.
Wi-Fi provides access to the internet, but an onboard entertainment platform can offer films, television, audio, games, digital publications and destination information without requiring passengers to depend entirely on an external streaming connection.
For a traveller spending several hours on a train, that can make the journey itself feel more like part of the holiday.
France Sits Inside A Wider European Shift
France is particularly relevant to this discussion because its rail network is central to European long-distance travel.
The European Union’s latest rail data shows that France accounted for 107.3 billion passenger-kilometres in 2024, second only to Germany’s 109.1 billion among EU countries. Across the EU, passengers made 8.7 billion rail trips during the year, generating 444.5 billion passenger-kilometres.
The numbers underline the scale of the market.
When millions of passengers spend substantial amounts of time onboard trains, connectivity becomes more than a convenience. It becomes part of the overall transport experience.
5G Could Strengthen The Foundation
The infrastructure behind better connectivity is also developing.
The European Commission is supporting 5G HSL Eurolink Works, a project designed to deploy permanent telecom infrastructure along the high-speed rail corridor between Compiègne in France and Brussels. The 243-kilometre project has received €21.1 million in EU funding and is scheduled to run from December 2025 to November 2028.
The project targets continuous 5G coverage and improved throughput along the corridor, supporting passenger connectivity as well as railway digitalisation.
A separate 5G Across Corridors in Europe project is testing seamless 5G services between Slovakia and Czechia. Its rail component includes passenger Wi-Fi and aims to demonstrate high-throughput, low-latency connectivity across a cross-border section.
These projects suggest that better onboard connectivity is being supported not only by train operators but also by wider European digital infrastructure programmes.
The Train Could Become A Digital Destination
The opportunity extends beyond streaming films.
An onboard digital platform can provide passengers with real-time journey information, destination guides, restaurant recommendations, cultural information, games, podcasts and locally relevant content.
Moment’s separate 2026 passenger research, based on 6.2 million onboard content sessions across its European rail network in 2025, recorded 1.8 million hours of watch time. Video represented 61% of sessions, while audio and podcast content also accounted for significant usage.
That suggests passengers are already willing to use digital entertainment during rail journeys when the infrastructure and content are available.
Better Entertainment Does Not Have To Depend On Mobile Data
One of the most interesting aspects of the emerging model is that entertainment does not necessarily need constant external internet connectivity.
Moment’s benchmark notes that content can be hosted on servers onboard the train. Passengers can then access entertainment through the train’s local network, reducing dependence on mobile coverage and avoiding the problems created by tunnels, dead zones and network congestion.
For European routes that cross mountains, borders and rural areas, that could be particularly useful.
The passenger remains connected to the train even when the train temporarily loses access to the wider mobile network.
Connectivity Is Also Becoming A Tourism Tool
The European Commission is simultaneously working on making cross-border rail travel easier to book.
In May 2026, the Commission proposed measures covering multimodal booking, rail ticketing and passenger protection, with the stated aim of making Europe-wide journeys easier to plan and book.
That creates an interesting parallel.
Europe is working to make the journey between destinations easier to book, while rail operators and technology companies are working to make the time spent onboard more useful and engaging.
Europe’s Next Rail Upgrade May Be Digital
There has been no general change to European rail fares, timetables, border rules or visa requirements as a result of the Moment benchmark.
For travellers, the immediate journey remains the same.
But the direction of travel is becoming clearer. Rail passenger numbers are substantial, cross-border connectivity is receiving infrastructure investment and Wi-Fi is already widespread across long-distance services.
The next competitive frontier may therefore be what happens after passengers connect.
Europe’s rail network is increasingly capable of getting travellers online. The next opportunity is turning that connection into a richer, more reliable and genuinely useful journey experience.
