Birmingham International railway station

52°27′04″N 1°43′30″W / 52.451°N 1.725°W / 52.451; -1.725Grid referenceSP187837Managed byAvanti West CoastTransit authorityTransport for West MidlandsPlatforms5Other informationStation codeBHIFare zone5ClassificationDfT category BHistoryOriginal companyBritish RailKey dates26 January 1976OpenedPassengers2018/19 6.975 million Interchange  152,4682019/20 6.520 million Interchange  151,3162020/21 0.512 million Interchange  33,4532021/22 2.411 million Interchange  92,8982022/23 4.185 million Interchange  258,069

Location

Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Birmingham International is a railway station known by code "BHI" in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands of England, just east of Birmingham. It is on the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line 14 km (8.7 mi) east of Birmingham New Street railway station. BHI serves Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre, the Resorts World Arena, and Resorts World Birmingham.

History

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 had at the time that name but is today called simply Birmingham Airport. A large space under the overbridge next to the southbound platforms suggests an allowance for future station expansion.

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

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:

Avanti West Coast:^[3]

• 2tph to London Euston (1 calling at Rugby, Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction). All services call at Coventry.
• 2tph to Birmingham New Street
  • 1tph extends northbound to Preston via Wolverhampton and Wigan North Western.
    • 2 trains per day (tpd) run further to Blackpool North only, with 1 train every 2 hours running to Edinburgh (6tpd) and 4 trains per day (tpd) running to Glasgow Central. Services to Scotland run via Carlisle.

At peak times some Avanti West Coast services to/from London Euston start and terminate here.

CrossCountry:^[4]

• 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield
• 1tph to Bournemouth, via Coventry and Reading

Transport for Wales Rail:^[5][6]

• 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. One service in the evening runs to each of Llandudno (Monday to Friday only) and Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Bank Quay. One Saturday evening service terminates at Crewe, with the last two Chester-bound services on Sundays running via Crewe.

West Midlands Trains:^[7][8]

• 4 tph to Birmingham New Street, of which:
  • 2 trains call at Birmingham New Street only, under the London Northwestern Railway brand^[9]
  • 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^[10]
• 2 tph to London Euston, via Northampton, also calling at Hampton-in-Arden, Berkswell, Tile Hill, Canley, Coventry, Rugby, Long Buckby, Wolverton, Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley and Leighton Buzzard (1tph calls additionally at Watford Junction), under the London Northwestern Railway brand.^[9]

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Coventry		Avanti West Coast London – Birmingham – North West & Scotland		Birmingham New Street
		CrossCountry South West to Manchester
Berkswell		London Northwestern Railway London – Northampton – Birmingham
Hampton-in-Arden
Terminus		Transport for Wales Birmingham International-Chester/Holyhead
		Transport for Wales Birmingham International - Aberystwyth/Pwllheli
Terminus		West Midlands Railway Birmingham International – Walsall – Rugeley Trent Valley		Marston Green
Preceding station		AirRail Link		Following station
Terminus		AirRail Link (Formerly Maglev)		Birmingham Airport

Connection to Birmingham Airport

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

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

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.^[11] 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

External links

London and
South East

Gatwick Airport	Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit
Heathrow Airport	Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 5 ULTra Heathrow Terminal 5 Transit
London City Airport	London City Airport
Luton Airport	Luton Airport Parkway [a] Luton DART
London Southend Airport	Southend Airport
London Stansted Airport	Stansted Airport Stansted Airport Transit System

Yorkshire,
North West, North East and
Cumbria

Humberside Airport	Barnetby [a]
Leeds Bradford Airport	Guiseley [a] Horsforth [a]
Liverpool John Lennon Airport	Liverpool South Parkway [a]
Manchester Airport	Manchester Airport station
Newcastle Airport	Newcastle Airport Newcastle [a]
Teesside Airport	Teesside Airport (service suspended) Dinsdale [a]

Midlands and
South West

Birmingham Airport	Birmingham International AirRail Link
Bournemouth Airport	Bournemouth [a]
Bristol Airport	Bristol Temple Meads [a]
East Midlands Airport	East Midlands Parkway [a]
Exeter Airport	Exeter St Davids [a]
Lands End Airport	Penzance [a]
Newquay Airport	Newquay [a]
Norwich Airport	Norwich [a]
Penzance Heliport	Penzance [a]
Southampton Airport	Southampton Airport Parkway

Scotland

Aberdeen Airport	Dyce [a]
Dundee Airport	Dundee [a]
Edinburgh Airport	Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Gateway [a]
Glasgow Airport	Paisley Gilmour Street [a]
Glasgow Prestwick Airport	Prestwick International Airport
Inverness Airport	Inverness Airport
Oban Airport	Oban [a]
Wick Airport	Wick [a]

Northern Ireland

Belfast International Airport	Lanyon Place [a]
City of Derry Airport	Derry~Londonderry [a]
George Best Belfast City Airport	Sydenham

Wales

Cardiff Airport	Rhoose Cardiff International Airport [a]