Birmingham International railway station

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]

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 station at platform level.

The basic Monday to Saturday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is as follows:

Avanti West Coast[3][4]

• 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 Wigan North Western (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.

CrossCountry[5]

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

Transport for Wales[6][7]

• 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.

West Midlands Trains[8][9]

• 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, 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.[10]

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

AirRail Link people mover system showing the track and pulley system

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.

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.

The proposed '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.[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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birmingham International railway station.

• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Birmingham International station