More than half of rail passengers have had phone calls cut off and a third have been unable to send text messages due to poor signal, a new study suggests.

Most rail passengers struggle to connect to the internet on their mobile phone on their commute to work because of connectivity problems, said uSwitch.

A survey of 1,000 adults by the price comparison service indicated that two thirds could not connect to wi-fi on trains.

Travellers in Scotland and northern England are most likely to complain about patchy mobile reception, said the report.

Ru Bhikha of uSwitch.com said: "In a world where we are constantly striving to be 'always on', it's understandably jarring to suddenly find yourself cut off.

"Our smartphones allow us to maximise the efficiency with which we tackle 'life admin', so watching an endless loading wheel while trying to order our weekly shop on the train home can be especially frustrating.

"Recognising this, train operators have made the effort to provide customers with wi-fi access points, so commuters can pass the time streaming video, music, browsing social media or getting a head start on work.

"But these wi-fi connections are rarely as fast or reliable as the broadband people enjoy at home, which limits the performance of data-demanding apps and services people have become accustomed to using all the time."