More than three-quarters of commuters on Great Northern Eastern Railways (GNER) use its Wifi services whilst travelling to and from the office, research has found.

The research carried out with the help of 335 GNER passengers during February and March this year found that 85 per cent of them used its Wifi facility for work.

Those in the East Midlands were found to be the most conscientious with 90 per cent using Wifi for work purposes. They were closely followed by commuters in York where three-quarters admitted to logging on to check work email.

The North East returned the lowest results with just 50 per cent using the Wifi service for work. This could be because they were found to be the most sociable train travellers, with more than two-thirds (68 per cent) using the wireless access to keep in touch with friends and family. They were also found to be the most inquisitive, with more than one in 10 using Google to look up other people, including potential dates.

Those aged under 25 were also less concerned with work. One in five was most likely to be using Wifi to shop on online sites such as Amazon and online fashion store ASOS. Just under a fifth of all users also logged on to keep up to date with the latest sports scores.

Alan Hyde, spokesman for GNER, said: “It’s great to see that GNER travellers are embracing the digital revolution and using Wifi for a whole host of different purposes, whether checking emails or shopping for the latest bargains.

“The poll of GNER customers provides a benchmark for how Brits will be using Wifi on the move in the future.”

GNER became the first UK train operator to roll out Wifi across its entire fleet last October. Since then user figures have risen by 77 per cent to half a million.

The Wifi service on GNER trains is free for first-class ticket holders. Prices for Standard Class travellers range from £2.95 for 30 minutes' use to £9.95 for 24 hours’ use.