Infrastructure, Construction & Developments

[Ray Finkle]

Welcome to the forum megaark-1

Great points and I can't argue with anything that you have said there, investment is needed (including staff recruitment) just to cope with the levels that we have now. We're not alone though, MAN has similar problems, BRS has reports of horrendous queues, Luton.....well it's Luton. Not to say that is an excuse though as it's clear that the present situation is unacceptable. There are several short terms 'fixes' that may help but it really depends on how much the owners want to invest in the current site if the long term plan is a move elsewhere.

I was as disappointed as anyone about the delay of the master plan but up until recently I don't think I understood the enormity of what is likely to be proposed. It's an immensely complex issue with many different third parties involved and as we all know, wheels in this country turn very slowly indeed. What also doesn't help is the uncertainty surrounding the shareholders and the still vacant position of CEO.

This is potentially a once in a generation opportunity and it's important to get it right.

 

[Brum X]

I also cant disagree with anything that megaark-1 has said, all valid points however i do also get frustrated that we campare ourselves to MAN.

MAN-27 Million passengers
BHX-13 Million passengers

MAN is in a different league so you would expect this grand vision. BHX is expected to publish its own future plans shortly so lets just wait and see what is proposed. Lets not forget this is blighty and little old BHX handling 13 million passengers isnt a priority.

Just look at EDI and the lack of space at this airport, again not wahat you would expect from the capital city of scotland, but again this is the UK. We always lack vision.

 

[Barry Beeth]

I didn't read it as a direct comparison with MAN as it is now but as a comparison with BHX now versus MAN as it was "back in the day", when it was handling circa 13m ppa.

From memory, this was mid 90s and it was still light years ahead of BHX now. My opinion only, clearly but I doubt anyone who was there at the time would disagree.

MAN is in a different league, quite right but it's about to take another huge leap and BHX is again late in getting any kind of plan to press.

Time to spend a few quid, methinks...

 

[megaark-1]

It wasn't a comparison Brum X because Manchester is so far ahead. The only comparison I wanted to allude to was one of realising ambition: something I feel can be reasonably compared, and it's something I feel MCR is much better at.

My biggest concern is that they will take more and more business from BHX unless some sort of plan is brought to fruition reasonably soon. But it's not only MCR that BHX should be worried about. I can't be the only brummie who has flown through East Midlands this year and thought it was a much quieter more relaxed experience.

 

[Barry Beeth]

Exactly what I was trying to allude to but much more eloquently stated, the joys of a phone keyboard, a hotel bar in Glasgow and far too much Stella for this stage of the evening.

And, no, I drove...

 

[jfy1999]

Here's a quote from member "Fidget808" on the SkyscraperCity forum...

By chance I had lunch with someone who is involved in preparing the master plan. It is imminent I believe.

They didn't give much away but it does include a brand new terminal. Whether that is on the current site, or elsewhere they wouldn't say annoyingly. I kind of got the feeling it was near to the current terminal however. But that is speculation.

Anyway, not much we didn't know already but something to get quietly excited about nonetheless!

 

[Brum X]

Here's a quote from member "Fidget808" on the SkyscraperCity forum...

You beat me to it Jfy

 

[thunderchild]

What troubles me is the apparent lack of urgency to do anything about this. Manchester stole a march on
BHX back in the 70's and 80's, and now it's doing it again. Whilst they are not only dreaming about but
implementing a fabulous £1 billion infrastructure overhaul, Birmingham is once again half asleep. Day dreaming about a great future but not doing very much about it.

Have to disagree there, while BHX isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination in certain areas it's miles ahead of MAN - specifically Terminal 1 with that god awful tower block and ancient piers. They might have taken the initiative years ago but MAN's current terminal redevelopments should have happened 10 years ago. The sight of an A380 bridge tacked onto the end of a pier designed to handle Tridents and BAC 1-11s is hardly representative of a world class airport.

 

[Coathanger16]

Had a quiet afternoon with nothing much to do so thought I'd have a go at making a realistic (at least I think so) master plan (apologies about the poor quality - I'm still not sure how to upload a decent sized image in the thread).

View attachment 5895

The plans fairly self explanatory, but the main points would be:

-Build the new 'Main Terminal' and shift operations over
-Open new remote stands (near the fire station)
-Close the existing terminal
-Replace the Eurohub with a new pier of similar standard to the others (not shown here)
-Replace the existing terminal with a dedicated Low Cost Terminal (the existing international pier could be reconfigured to better suit LCC)

This layout would allow full service carries (EK, QR, AF, KLM, LH, etc) to use jet bridges and a terminal better suited for full service carriers, whilst allowing low cost carriers to use more of the remote stands. The new terminal could also be connected to the railway station.

The main problems that I can see here would clearly be cost (this ain't gonna come cheap) and the loss/replacement of surface car parks. The latter could probably be solved by building what would probably become the UK's largest multi-storey car park between the two terminals. As for cost, I'm not sure how much money the airport itself has to invest in a project like this, and I wonder how much (if any) would B'ham City Council be prepared to invest.

With the redevelopment of New Street complete, Paradise, Arena Central and other projects well underway, potentially the commonwealth games coming to the city, and HS2 both in the City Centre and out by the airport, Birmingham is slowly pulling itself into the 21st Century. BHX mustn't fall behind.

At the very least, this proves that a sizable expansion of the airport can occur within the confided boundaries that exist.

 

[BHXsupporter]

It's always really interesting to see such ideas - thanks. Didn't you feel that the 'Eurohub' could be redeveloped to give greater capacity for gates (and perhaps all fingers extended by another plane with the parallel runway in line with the recently completed line past the fuel farm)?

 

[Brum X]

Looks great Coathanger, if only it was that simple. Id build your proposal though, simple but does the job.

 

[IanFarquharson]

Great work Coathanger - but there wont be a terminal on the car park !

 

[Dobbo]

If I can jump in and make a couple of points:

1. MAN in no way is a template for BHX. The only good decision it has made in the last 30 years is regarding the second runway, and even that is sub-optimal. Terminal 2 is okay, and will certainly be much better by the time the first phase of the TP is complete. Terminals 1 and 3 are a disaster. BHX can, and should do better than this (which leads me on to the second point).
2. I really like what Coathanger has done. Developing an efficient, expanded, but tight, campus should be deliverable by BHX. The big question is whether to shift the terminal (or build a new one) closer to the HS2 station, but my view is that it would be much better value to provide a speedy and frequent people mover into the terminal (or terminals) from the station. I'm sure more work can be done to extract more movements out of the runway - BHX need look no further than LGW for what can be achieved. In the long term, there should always be the aspiration for a second runway at BHX.

 

[Brum X]

Had a quiet afternoon with nothing much to do so thought I'd have a go at making a realistic (at least I think so) master plan (apologies about the poor quality - I'm still not sure how to upload a decent sized image in the thread).

View attachment 5895

The plans fairly self explanatory, but the main points would be:

-Build the new 'Main Terminal' and shift operations over
-Open new remote stands (near the fire station)
-Close the existing terminal
-Replace the Eurohub with a new pier of similar standard to the others (not shown here)
-Replace the existing terminal with a dedicated Low Cost Terminal (the existing international pier could be reconfigured to better suit LCC)

This layout would allow full service carries (EK, QR, AF, KLM, LH, etc) to use jet bridges and a terminal better suited for full service carriers, whilst allowing low cost carriers to use more of the remote stands. The new terminal could also be connected to the railway station.

The main problems that I can see here would clearly be cost (this ain't gonna come cheap) and the loss/replacement of surface car parks. The latter could probably be solved by building what would probably become the UK's largest multi-storey car park between the two terminals. As for cost, I'm not sure how much money the airport itself has to invest in a project like this, and I wonder how much (if any) would B'ham City Council be prepared to invest.

With the redevelopment of New Street complete, Paradise, Arena Central and other projects well underway, potentially the commonwealth games coming to the city, and HS2 both in the City Centre and out by the airport, Birmingham is slowly pulling itself into the 21st Century. BHX mustn't fall behind.

At the very least, this proves that a sizable expansion of the airport can occur within the confided boundaries that exist.

Just noticed Coathanger, where will the spotters go ?

 

[IanFarquharson]

I think the new terminal will not be in walking distance

 

[Ray Finkle]

Had a quiet afternoon with nothing much to do so thought I'd have a go at making a realistic (at least I think so) master plan (apologies about the poor quality - I'm still not sure how to upload a decent sized image in the thread).

View attachment 5895

The plans fairly self explanatory, but the main points would be:

-Build the new 'Main Terminal' and shift operations over
-Open new remote stands (near the fire station)
-Close the existing terminal
-Replace the Eurohub with a new pier of similar standard to the others (not shown here)
-Replace the existing terminal with a dedicated Low Cost Terminal (the existing international pier could be reconfigured to better suit LCC)

This layout would allow full service carries (EK, QR, AF, KLM, LH, etc) to use jet bridges and a terminal better suited for full service carriers, whilst allowing low cost carriers to use more of the remote stands. The new terminal could also be connected to the railway station.

The main problems that I can see here would clearly be cost (this ain't gonna come cheap) and the loss/replacement of surface car parks. The latter could probably be solved by building what would probably become the UK's largest multi-storey car park between the two terminals. As for cost, I'm not sure how much money the airport itself has to invest in a project like this, and I wonder how much (if any) would B'ham City Council be prepared to invest.

With the redevelopment of New Street complete, Paradise, Arena Central and other projects well underway, potentially the commonwealth games coming to the city, and HS2 both in the City Centre and out by the airport, Birmingham is slowly pulling itself into the 21st Century. BHX mustn't fall behind.

At the very least, this proves that a sizable expansion of the airport can occur within the confided boundaries that exist.

Great plan I like the ideas, it'll be interesting to see how it compares when we eventually hear something official

The only points I'd make are that the new stands by the fire station would need to be the other side of the taxiway as wide bodies wouldn't be able to fit down there for the 80's stands. I'd also join up the parallel taxiways closest to the runway, why this wasn't done during the extension is beyond me.

 

[rollo]

Just noticed Coathanger, where will the spotters go ?

How about a roof garden just like Heathrow used to have on the old Queens Building back in the day including live commentary on arrivals and departures.

 

[Brum X]

I think the new terminal will not be in walking distance

Terminal at HS2 Station linked by monorail ?

 

[BHXsupporter]

There is/was talk that Midland Metro will extend from the airport to HS2. This wouldn't give enough capacity/frequency for transfers from rail to airport but avoidance of duplication should be thought about.

 

[Ianbutty]

We have made a planner out of you coathanger. Well done.

I would also expand the old eruohub and put the forgotten remote pier in unless it restricts the larger aircraft movements. All very much needed and needed sooner than the airport seem to be currently planning for. My preference is this kind of expansion than the new HS2 hub approach.