Birmingham International railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Birmingham International


caption = View from the north
pte = West Midlands
zone = 5
code = BHI
manager = Virgin Trains
locale = Birmingham Airport
latitude = 52.451
longitude = -1.725
borough = Solihull
years = 1975
events = Opened
platforms = 5
usage0405 = 1.947
usage0506 = 2.201
usage0607 = 2.448

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

The station is on the West Coast Main Line 14 km (8½ miles) east of Birmingham New Street and serves both Birmingham International 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 in 1975 and has regular train services to many parts of the country.

Virgin Trains provide services to London that originate from Birmingham or Wolverhampton. There is also a regular service each way from Manchester. CrossCountry provides services to Bournemouth, Reading, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Local services to Coventry and Birmingham are provided by London Midland.

Connection to Birmingham International Airport

A maglev service ran from the airport terminal to the Birmingham International railway station from 1984 until 1995. The train "flew" at an altitude of 15 mm over a track 620m 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. Although construction was essentially completed by early 2002, delays to start of construction of the new Interchange at the railway station end meant it was not possible to open the system until March 2003 when the Interchange was completed. The system was originally known as "SkyRail" but in 2004 it was renamed AirRail Link.

The international airport can also be reached via a dedicated fast bus service from Coleshill Parkway station, on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line; the buses run four times per hour and the journey takes around fifteen minutes.

Connection to the National Exhibition Centre

Under cover walkways and several escalators (including two horizontal escalators) connect the NEC buildings to the Birmingham International railway station and to the Air-Rail Link, which in turn connects to Birmingham International Airport.

Gallery

ee also

*Transport in Birmingham
*Birmingham Snow Hill station
*Birmingham New Street railway station
*Birmingham Moor Street railway station

External links

* [http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/birmingham_international.php Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Birmingham International station]

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