Birmingham International railway station
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
Birmingham International  | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the station | |
| General information | |
| Location | Birmingham Airport, Metropolitan Borough of Solihull England |
| Coordinates | 52°27′04″N 1°43′30″W / 52.451°N 1.725°W |
| Grid reference | SP187837 |
| Managed by | Avanti West Coast |
| Transit authority | Transport for West Midlands |
| Platforms | 5 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | BHI |
| Fare zone | 5 |
| Classification | DfT category B |
| History | |
| Original company | British Rail |
| Key dates | |
| 26 January 1976 | Opened |
| Passengers | |
| 2017/18 |  6.664 million |
| 2018/19 | 6.975 million |
| Interchange | 152,468 |
| 2019/20 |  6.520 million |
| Interchange | 151,316 |
| 2020/21 | 0.512 million |
| Interchange | 33,453 |
| 2021/22 | 2.411 million |
| Interchange | 92,898 |
| Location | |
 | |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
Birmingham International is a railway station located in Solihull in the West Midlands, to the east of the city of Birmingham, England.
The station is on the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line 14 km (8.7 mi) east of Birmingham New Street and serves Birmingham Airport, National Exhibition Centre (incorporating the Resorts World Arena) and Resorts World Birmingham.
History[edit]
The station was designed by the architect Ray Moorcroft and opened on 26 January 1976; [1] it has regular train services to many parts of the country. It was named Birmingham International after the adjacent airport which was, at the time, named Birmingham International Airport, but has since been rebranded as Birmingham Airport. The large space under the overbridge to the left of the southbound platforms suggests space was allowed for future expansion of the station.
In 2016, it was proposed to rename it to Birmingham Airport & NEC, due to the airport's name change and the near presence of the National Exhibition Centre.[2]
Services[edit]
The station is managed by Avanti West Coast and is also served by CrossCountry, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains. It has five platforms, consisting of two islands and one side platform numbered 1-5 from south to north.
The basic Monday to Saturday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is as follows:
- 2tph soutbound to London Euston (1 calling at Rugby, Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction). All services call at Coventry.
- 2tph to Birmingham New Street
- 1tph of which extends northbound to Blackpool North, Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central (alternating each hour) via Wolverhampton and Preston (and Carlisle for Edinburgh and Glasgow services).
- 1tpd to northbound to Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton and Telford Central
At peak times some Avanti West Coast services to/from London Euston start and terminate here.
- 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street and Macclesfield
- 1 tph to Bournemouth, via Coventry and Reading
- 1 tph to Shrewsbury, of which:
- 1 tp2h continues to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli, after dividing at Machynlleth
- 1 tp2h continues to Holyhead via Wrexham General and Chester, two evening services instead run to Llandudno (Monday to Friday only, and Manchester Piccadilly, via Warrington Bank Quay, respectively.
At Saturday nighttime one service terminates at Crewe, with the last two Chester-bound services on Sundays running via Crewe to terminate at Chester.
- 4 tph to Birmingham New Street, of which:
- 2 trains call at Birmingham New Street only, under the London Northwestern Railway brand[10]
- 2 trains start here and call at Marston Green, Lea Hall and Stechford (1tph calls additionally at Adderley Park) before continuing to Rugeley Trent Valley via Walsall, under the West Midlands Railway brand[11]
- 2 tph to London Euston, via Northampton, calling at Hampton-in-Arden, Berkswell, Tile Hill, Canley, Coventry, Rugby, Long Buckby, Northampton, Wolverton, Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley, Leighton Buzzard and London Euston (1tph calls additionally at Watford Junction), under the London Northwestern Railway brand.[10]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avanti West Coast | ||||
| CrossCountry | ||||
| London Northwestern Railway | ||||
| Terminus | Transport for Wales | |||
| Transport for Wales | ||||
| West Midlands Railway Birmingham International-Birmingham New Street | ||||
| West Midlands Railway Birmingham International-Rugeley Trent Valley | ||||
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Preceding station | AirRail Link | Following station | ||
| Terminus | AirRail Link (Formerly Maglev) |
Birmingham Airport |
Connection to Birmingham Airport[edit]
A maglev service ran from the airport terminal to the station from 1984 until 1995. The train "flew" at an altitude of 15 mm over a track 620 m in length. It operated for nearly 11 years, but was scrapped because spare parts for the system were no longer available. It was temporarily replaced by a bus.
The chosen replacement system, the Doppelmayr Cable Car Cable Liner Shuttle, was announced in late 2000 and construction started in 2001. The Interchange was opened in March 2003. The system was originally known as SkyRail but in 2004 it was renamed AirRail Link.
The airport can also be reached via a dedicated fast bus service from Coleshill Parkway station, on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line.
Connection to the National Exhibition Centre[edit]
Undercover walkways, escalators and travelators connect the NEC buildings to the station and to the Air-Rail Link which, in turn, connects to Birmingham Airport.
Birmingham Interchange[edit]
A new Birmingham Interchange is to be built on the other side of the M42 motorway from the station to link it with the proposed High Speed 2 rail line.[12] The new interchange would be connected to the station by an automated people mover, as well as to the airport and National Exhibition centre; the AirRail Link people mover already operates between Birmingham International station and the airport.
References[edit]
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ Jones, Tamlyn; Bannister, Antonia (30 August 2016). "Birmingham International train station to change its name". CoventryLive.
- ^ "Scheduled timetable book for 11 December 2022 to 20 May 2023" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
- ^ "Scheduled timetable book for 21 May 2023 to 9 December 2023" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
- ^ "CrossCountry | Train Timetables | Scotland, North East & Manchester to the South West and South Coast | Sunday 21 May 2023 - 9 December 2023" (PDF). CrossCountry Trains.
- ^ "Train Times | 21 May - 9 September 2023 | Birmingham-Shrewsbury-Chester" (PDF). Transport for Wales Rail.
- ^ "Cambrian | Train Times | 21 May - 9 September 2023 | Birmingham-Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth-Pwllheli" (PDF). Transport for Wales Rail.
- ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Birmingham International". West Midlands Railway.
- ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Birmingham International". London Northwestern Railway.
- ^ a b "Timetable | London Euston-Northampton-Milton Keynes Central-Birmingham New Street | from 21 May until 9 December 2023". London Northwestern Railway. 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Timetable from Sunday 21 May 2023 - Rugeley to Birmingham New Street via Walsall". West Midlands Railway. 21 May 2023.
- ^ Department for Transport (11 March 2010). High Speed Rail - Command Paper (PDF). The Stationery Office. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-10-178272-2. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
External links[edit]
- Railway stations in Solihull
- DfT Category B stations
- Airport railway stations in the United Kingdom
- Railway stations opened by British Rail
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1976
- Railway stations served by CrossCountry
- Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail
- Railway stations served by Avanti West Coast
- Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains
- 1976 establishments in England
- Stations on the West Coast Main Line