Birmingham International railway station

Birmingham International is a railway station 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.

For the future High Speed 2 station, see Birmingham Interchange.

Birmingham International
Entrance to the station
General information
Location	Birmingham Airport, Bickenhill, Metropolitan Borough of Solihull England
Coordinates	52.451°N 1.725°W / 52.451; -1.725
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
2019/20	6.520 million
Interchange	151,316
2020/21	0.512 million
Interchange	33,453
2021/22	2.411 million
Interchange	92,898
2022/23	4.185 million
Interchange	258,069
2023/24	4.680 million
Interchange	213,340
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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 station at platform level.

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

On Sundays, some services from Reading to Newcastle/York also call here.

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

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 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

The proposed 'Birmingham Interchange'

A new Birmingham Interchange station is to be built on the other side of the M42 motorway on the High Speed 2 rail line.^[11] The new interchange will 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.