UK rail passengers will be able to take advantage of fast and reliable train Wi-Fi for the first time – as long as they are travelling on the 43-mile stretch of track between Earlsfield in south London and Basingstoke in Hampshire.

South Western Railway has become the first train operator "to introduce rail-5G Wi-Fi in Europe", said Rail Advent. It's on a small scale – the new technology "requires trackside poles and antennae, which need to be installed along the route, as well as on trains" – but it could pave the way to ending poor on-board connectivity for all rail travellers. 

'Not true Wi-Fi at all'
Poor train Wi-Fi is the "bane of every commuter's existence", said The i Paper. It's not an issue that's specific to one or two service providers: only half of UK travellers surveyed by watchdog Transport Focus, in July 2024, said they were satisfied with internet reliability.

Wi-Fi is so unreliable on trains because "it's not true Wi-Fi at all". It relies on mobile data signals channelled through SIM cards fixed to the train. The problem is that mobile internet connections aren't "ubiquitous across the whole country". Just 69% of rural Britain is covered by the main four mobile networks, and areas with fewer masts provide a weaker connection. Train services also cap usage.

Plus, "if you were trying to design a system uniquely made to try and limit the spread of a Wi-Fi signal, you couldn't do much better than a modern UK train carriage". Its construction materials block electromagnetic signals like Wi-Fi, and crowds of passengers mean signals are even more obstructed before they finally reach our laptop or smartphone. 

'Careful what you wish for'
The solution is more mobile towers because "the faster you travel, the harder the handover from one tower to another", said the Financial Times. Installing more 5G masts helps to bridge the gaps. From these, the mobile connection could be converted to Wi-Fi via antennae on the roof of trains. 

"But be careful what you wish for," said the paper. "Imagine a world" in which self-important train passengers "seamlessly log into their Zoom calls, or stream short videos without headphones". We might "go from complaining that the Wi-Fi doesn't work to complaining that it does".

"Olympians tout it, fitness influencers experiment with it, and Patrick Schwarzenegger's gym bro character in 'The White Lotus' added it to his famous shake," said The Guardian.

Creatine, long popular among athletes and bodybuilders for boosting performance, was once called a "wonder drug" by former footballer Ian Wright. Now, scientists are increasingly curious about its wider potential benefits for cognitive and mental health.

What is creatine?
Creatine, made from three amino acids and produced in the liver, kidneys and pancreas, is mostly stored in muscles and enhances the regeneration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP): "the basic fuel body cells rely on to produce energy," James Goodwin of the Brain Health Network told The Times. ATP delivers energy faster than glucose or oxygen, making it valuable during high-intensity exercise.

The body produces about 1g of creatine daily, which "typically isn't enough for our total requirements," said BBC Future. Most people get additional creatine from animal proteins, like meat and oily fish, or from a supplement, usually creatine monohydrate.

Why is it so popular?
Creatine "exploded as a consumer product" in the 1990s, said Vox, after "influential" Swedish research showed its effectiveness in "improving stamina and recovery during short bursts of physical exercise". Creatine powder "hit the shelves of drugstores and workout gyms": a cheap, easy way for bodybuilders and exercise fanatics to improve. Today, one in four adults say they have used creatine, with $400 million-worth of it sold in the US every year.

What else can it do?
Over the past 20 years, studies have suggested that creatine might have cognitive benefits, because of the role it plays in neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons in the brain). Research has linked creatine supplementation to improved memory and brain health, increased energy and alleviation of depression.

Scientists are exploring whether creatine could help ease depression symptoms "by supporting brain energy, memory, attention and information-processing speed, and promoting dopamine and serotonin production", said The Guardian. A 2024 meta-review of studies suggested that creatine is effective in supplementing other treatments, such as antidepressants and CBT. 

The benefits of creatine are also "a hot topic for women in perimenopause and menopause", said Axios, because of its potential f0r maintaining cognitive function, bone health and muscle mass.

Essex: Pollards Cross, Hempstead
Fine 17th-century house with landscaped gardens. 6 beds, 3 baths, kitchen, 3 receps, 3-bed coach house, tennis court, heated pool, summer house, parking. £1.995m; Savills

Hertfordshire: Westfield Green, Little Hadham
Characterful Grade II* Tudor hall house with period features. Grounds of 2.9 acres boast a topiary garden and an established orchard. 6 beds (2 en suite), family bath, kitchen/breakfast room, 3 receps, pond, outbuildings. £1.85m; Savills

Rutland: Orchard House, Hambleton
This handsome 17th-century house on Rutland Water is set within beautifully landscaped grounds of 7.5 acres, including a fruit orchard. 4 beds (1 en suite), 2 baths, kitchen/dining room, 3 receps, 2-bed cottage, outbuildings, garden. OIEO £2.5m; Savills

Wiltshire: The Ivy, Chippenham
The principal part of this glorious Grade I manor house, built in 1728. The gardens by the award-winning Julian and Isabel Bannerman include an orchard within box hedging. Master suite, 3 further beds, 2 baths, 2 kitchens, 3 receps, cellar, gardens, pool, parking. £1.8m; Inigo

The Left has fallen right into Jenrick's trap on fare-dodging
Tom Harris in The Telegraph
Robert Jenrick's London Underground stunt "sparked a massive debate on social media", writes Tom Harris. A video released by the shadow justice secretary shows him "confronting those who had avoided paying their fare". He "was offering no actual solutions" but the reaction to this "exercise in populism" has exposed the fact that "very few Labour supporters" seem to stand by the Blairite "tough on crime" mantra – and that's a "PR triumph for Jenrick".

What the NHS can learn from Formula 1
Diane Coyle in the Financial Times
Watching a Formula 1 pitstop "inspired" doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital to "reorganise the tricky handover between theatre and intensive care staff", writes Diane Coyle. There's "more mileage" in this F1 example. The "familiar" claim about too many administrators in the NHS "rests on a misunderstanding about productivity". Like an F1 pit crew, office staff are "a particular kind of equipment the frontline staff need to be as effective as possible".

End of the gear stick is backward step for humanity
Libby Purves in The Times
I learn with "sadness" that "only one in five new cars in the UK has a manual gearbox", writes Libby Purves. "Soon we will be like clutch-phobic Americans." Perhaps "leaving decisions to a robot suits fretful souls" but "I cleave to my gearstick". There's "something masterful" about changing gear yourself: it reminds you that, "despite this age of button-pushing and screen-swiping", you are a "watchful human, responsibly attuned" to your car.