SJ taps Icomera to take satellite Wi-Fi from a one-train pilot to 20 trains
Sweden’s SJ has chosen Icomera to fit satellite Wi-Fi on all 20 SJ 3000 trains after testing it on one train, with installation due in the second half of 2026.
Icomera said on 29 September that SJ had selected it after trials and a competitive tender. The Gothenburg-based Equans subsidiary already supplies the onboard connectivity platform on the SJ 3000 fleet. The satellite equipment will build on that system. Icomera expects passengers to have the upgraded service on every trainset from early 2027.
The SJ 3000 trains serve Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Sundsvall and Oslo, so the upgrade covers cross-border journeys to Norway as well as domestic routes. State-owned SJ says the trains mainly run between Gothenburg and Malmö, Stockholm and Sundsvall, and Stockholm and Oslo.
From a one-train test to the full SJ 3000 fleet
SJ announced its satellite plan on 1 December 2025. It had tested satellite connectivity on one train that autumn. It then decided to equip the whole SJ 3000 fleet. Sofie Struwe, SJ’s director of commercial traffic, said at the time that the pilot showed the technology solved the biggest problem of so-called blind spots, where mobile coverage is poor or missing. She singled out the Stockholm–Oslo route.
The December plan set out a phased rollout from summer 2026 and a fully equipped fleet during 2027. Icomera now puts the start of installation in the second half of 2026 and fleet-wide availability from early 2027. SJ has said the SJ 3000 trains are the first of its fleets in line for the technology.
| Item | SJ, 1 December 2025 | Icomera, 29 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Trains covered | 20 SJ 3000 trains | 20 SJ 3000 trainsets |
| Testing | One train, autumn 2025 | Trials during 2025 |
| Supplier | Not named | Icomera, chosen after a competitive tender |
| Stated start | Phased rollout of equipped trains from summer 2026 | Installation from the second half of 2026 |
| Whole fleet | Fully equipped during 2027 | Service across the fleet from early 2027 |
Both announcements cover 20 trains and point to 2027 for the whole fleet. The September statement adds the supplier, gives the second half of 2026 for the start of installation and dates fleet-wide service to early 2027.
Sources: SJ press release, 1 December 2025; Icomera press release, 29 September 2026.
How satellite and mobile networks share one Wi-Fi service
Passengers will not have to pick a connection. Icomera’s platform merges satellite and cellular links into a single onboard Wi-Fi network, choosing and combining whichever networks are available along the route.
Icomera says it designed the system specifically for electrified railways. It describes the programme as among the first fleet-wide deployments worldwide of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite links for passenger trains on electrified lines. SJ went further in December. It said that, as far as it knew, it would be the first operator to equip a fleet of passenger trains on electrified track this way. Neither company named the satellite network provider or disclosed the value of the contract.
Satellite Wi-Fi on Lumo’s electric East Coast fleet
Icomera is also working on a satellite rollout for an all-electric intercity fleet in the UK. In June 2026, open access operator Lumo said it would introduce Starlink Wi-Fi this autumn across its East Coast Main Line trains, on services linking London King’s Cross with Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lumo is fitting the system with train manufacturer Hitachi, rolling stock lessor Beacon Rail and Icomera as connectivity provider.
Mobile coverage work on the main lines
Satellite links are only one part of SJ’s connectivity programme. The operator also works with mobile network operators to close coverage gaps along its key corridors. In its December announcement, SJ said several operators had started building out 5G along the Southern and Western Main Lines (Södra and Västra stambanan). SJ has fitted radio-transparent windows to all of its trains serving those lines.
