Birmingham International railway station

Birmingham International National Rail

Entrance to the station
Location
Place Birmingham Airport
Local authority Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
Coordinates 52°27′04″N 1°43′30″W / 52.451°N 1.725°W / 52.451; -1.725Coordinates: 52°27′04″N 1°43′30″W / 52.451°N 1.725°W / 52.451; -1.725
Grid reference SP187837
Operations
Station code BHI
Managed by Virgin Trains
Number of platforms 5
DfT category B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11 Increase 4.444 million
2011/12 Decrease 4.329 million
2012/13 Increase 4.523 million
2013/14 Increase 4.858 million
2014/15 Increase 5.129 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE West Midlands
Zone 5
History
Original company British Rail
26 January 1976 Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Birmingham International from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Birmingham International is a railway station located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham, England.

The station is on the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line 14 km (8½ miles) east of Birmingham New Street and serves both Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. The railway station lies next to the M42 motorway. The 'International' in its name refers to the airport, not to an international railway service. The station opened on 26 January 1976.[1] and 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 station is managed by Virgin Trains and is also served by Arriva Trains Wales, CrossCountry and London Midland. It has five platforms, consisting of two islands and one side platform numbered 1-5 from south to north.

The station at platform level.

Services

The basic off-peak service is as follows:

Virgin Trains

During rush hour certain Virgin services to/from London Euston start and terminate here.

Arriva Trains Wales

CrossCountry

London Midland

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Terminus   Arriva Trains Wales
Birmingham - Chester
  Birmingham New Street
  Arriva Trains Wales
Cambrian Line
 
Hampton-in-Arden   London Midland
Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line
  Marston Green
Coventry   Virgin Trains
West Coast Main Line
  Birmingham New Street
Coventry   CrossCountry
Bournemouth-Manchester
  Birmingham New Street
Preceding station   AirRail Link   Following station
Terminus   AirRail Link (Formerly Maglev)   Airport Terminal

Connection to Birmingham Airport

AirRail Link people mover system showing the track and pulley system
Main article: AirRail Link

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 DCC 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

Under cover walkways, escalators and Travelators connect the NEC buildings to the station and to the Air-Rail Link, which in turn connects to Birmingham Airport.

High Speed 2

The proposed 'Birmingham Interchange'

A new Birmingham Interchange railway station is to be built on the other side of the M42 motorway from the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham Airport and this station.[2] The new interchange would be connected by a "rapid transit people mover" to the other sites; the AirRail Link people mover already operates between Birmingham International station and the airport.

References

  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birmingham International railway station.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.