Community radio station East Coast FM (ECFM) traditionally broadcast from the market town of Haddington from the safety of their studio there. Yesterday they made history by broadcasting live from a train travelling on the East Coast line.
Using the train’s onboard Icomera Wi-Fi network, ECFM were able to transmit via the Internet and through the station locally in East Lothian.
Today’s special event marked the launch of a new dedicated app for iPhone and android which allows you direct access to the station. The East Coast FM 107.6 app is available to download for free now.
Ian Robertson, Station Manager at ECFM said, “We are all about the community at ECFM and that community got a bit bigger today. We are delighted to have undertaken such a significant first in the history of rail travel between Edinburgh and London. We hope our listeners enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed broadcasting. We want listeners to know we have our own dedicated app which will make it even easier to tune into East Coast FM.
“Raising awareness of the station is a big part of our fundraising and what keeps us going. I’d like to thank East Coast and the technical team that made this possible today. Maybe ECFM really is the biggest little radio station in the world!”
East Coast spokesman Richard Salkeld said, “We were really pleased to be able to support East Coast FM’s innovative idea to broadcast live from the East Coast Main Line. It’s the first time we have hosted a live radio broadcast along the route between Edinburgh and London at speeds of 125mph. It’s certainly a creative way to use the on-board Wi-Fi! ”
The lunchtime and drive time shows were broadcast live from the 10am to King’s Cross and the 3:00pm to Edinburgh trains.
