Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its drive test (IDT) conducted on the Ahmedabad–Gandhidham rail route in Gujarat, evaluating the mobile network performance of Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio (RJIL) and Vodafone Idea (Vi). Conducted on June 30, 2026, the assessment covered a 300 km railway corridor passing through Viramgam Junction, Dhrangadhra Junction, Halvad, Samakhiali Junction and Bhachau, measuring network coverage, call reliability and mobile broadband performance across multiple technologies.
Jio Delivers Best Network Coverage
TRAI measured coverage gaps based on poor signal strength samples recorded during voice testing in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). Reliance Jio delivered the strongest network coverage with just 361 poor signal samples out of 19,028 collected. Vodafone Idea followed with 522 poor signal samples out of 18,945, while Airtel recorded 909 poor signal samples out of 19,130. BSNL reported the largest coverage gap with 3,904 poor signal samples out of 17,085.
Airtel, Jio and Vi Record Zero Dropped Calls
Voice call reliability remained strongest on Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, with all three operators recording zero dropped calls during the rail journey. Airtel completed all 96 successfully established calls without interruption, while Jio also recorded zero dropped calls out of 96 established calls. Vodafone Idea achieved zero dropped calls out of 95 successful calls. BSNL experienced seven dropped calls out of 84 successfully established calls.
Jio Leads Mobile Download and Upload Speeds
Reliance Jio delivered the fastest mobile broadband performance on the Ahmedabad–Gandhidham rail corridor, recording an average download speed of 134.73 Mbps across its 5G/4G network. Airtel followed with an average download speed of 64.47 Mbps on its 5G/4G network. Vodafone Idea achieved an average download speed of 23.44 Mbps across its 5G/4G/2G network, while BSNL recorded 18.52 Mbps across its 4G/3G/2G network.
For upload performance, Jio again led with an average upload speed of 14.93 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 13.32 Mbps. Vodafone Idea achieved an average upload speed of 11.48 Mbps, while BSNL recorded 7.64 Mbps.
The TRAI drive test indicates that Reliance Jio delivered the strongest overall mobile network performance on the Ahmedabad–Gandhidham rail route, combining the best network coverage with the fastest download and upload speeds. Airtel matched Jio in dropped call performance while providing the second-fastest mobile data speeds. Vodafone Idea also achieved zero dropped calls but trailed the two leading operators in broadband performance, whereas BSNL recorded the highest coverage gaps, seven dropped calls and the slowest upload speeds among the operators tested.
SHAFANA FAZAL
