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The romance of the rails is a well-trodden trope of movies and tourism marketers, but anyone looking for love on one British train operator is being jilted before they even start.
Northern, which runs nearly 2,500 daily services in the north of England, has blocked passengers from using its Wi-Fi to access dating apps.
Bosses said they enacted the ban to prevent children from being exposed to inappropriate content. Chief operating officer Matt Rice said: “While some dating websites — and users — will operate with appropriate levels of self-moderation, some might not and it’s important that content not suitable for everyone to see or hear, particularly children, isn’t viewed on our trains.”
Northern also blocks access to sites that promote adult content and nudity, alcohol and gambling, as well as video-sharing and software update services.
The U.K. government has created a “Friendly Wi-Fi” scheme that is aimed at ensuring minimum filtering standards are in place to protect children. Museums, shopping malls, airports and retailers, in addition to train operators, have signed up to the program.
As well as banning dating sites, Northern last year reminded riders not to view “NSFW content” — an acronym for “not suitable for work.” This includes any explicit material, offensive topics, off-colour jokes and foul language. Passengers are also being encouraged to report anyone looking at inappropriate content to the British Transport Police, the law enforcement agency for the U.K. railway network.
Rice stressed that Northern did not wish to thwart Cupid entirely. “This onboard dating app embargo aside, we wish our single customers all the best in their search for their perfect partner.”