Road, Rail & Access

[Brum X]

Good for both Airport and NEC Complex

Virgin in talks to put on extra early and late trains to Birmingham International
Jun 26, 2014 17:00 By Jon Griffin

Train firm says extra service would be a boost for concert-goers and
Virgin Train

Virgin Trains is holding discussions with bosses at the NEC and nearby airport over the prospect of additional early and late trains to Birmingham International station.

If the discussions come to fruition, Birmingham International – just one hour and 10 minutes from Euston – could become a more popular destination for the capital’s concert-goers or business travellers seeking early flights.

The talks with the NEC and Birmingham Airport were revealed as Virgin said the award of the franchise to operate the West Coast Main Line to March 2017 would ensure a new period of investment and growth by the Birmingham-headquartered rail company.

Virgin Trains lead executive Phil Whittingham said: “In terms of opportunities for Birmingham, we are now in talks with the NEC. They have got the casino and Resorts World opening, and we are in discussions with them about how we can facilitate that, how we can get them to and from the airport, and later from events.

“We are talking about everything – they have got the LG Arena, the conference centre. If people are coming up from London, it is a great opportunity for us. The road experience around there is pretty poor.

“The airport wants trains arriving at 5.30am from London and the NEC wants trains later at night, with concerts finishing at 10.30pm.

“In the morning, the 6.20am from Euston gets in at 7.33am. It is popular, but is too late for business people who want to get a flight at 7am to Edinburgh or Amsterdam. We are in discussions, and we would be foolish to overlook this opportunity, but we have not done the business case yet, we have not got the paths from Network Rail. It is our aspiration, but I am not going to guarantee that we can deliver that.”

Mr Whittingham said the award of the West Coast Main Line franchise until March 2017 had ended a period of uncertainty after Virgin had originally lost out in late 2012 to FirstGroup in the tender bid.

The decision was later reversed by the Department for Transport due to errors in the bidding process.

“This puts behind us a difficult time and give us a solid foundation to go forward and make investments. It is about getting that sparkle back, it is about doing what Virgin does best in terms of customer experience,” he said.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

Purely from an airport point of view a morning train would definitely benefit pax on very early flights but what about those originating from the north of the Greater Birmingham region and beyond? I don't have any figures but I'd imagine there are more people travelling to BHX from the likes of Wolverhampton, Stafford etc than from London? As for the NEC then a late train would be great for people seeing evening shows and when the massive Resorts World opens next year it'll definitely be a bonus.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

No doubt a precursor to the arrival of the Metro.

A45 Rapid Transit City-Airport
(Birmingham & Solihull)

Total value: £50m

Local Growth Fund: £35m (provisional allocation)

Lead partner: Centro

This project will deliver a 16.5km SPRINT rapid transit scheme from Birmingham City Centre along the A45 to Birmingham International Station and HS2 Interchange. This will deliver a major upgrade to public transport in this corridor, linking Birmingham city centre, residential areas of East Birmingham and key transport and economic sites.

In doing so it will provide a high quality transport solution serving the Eastern Growth Corridor which has been identified to accommodate Birmingham’s growing population and UK Central the region’s most significant development location.

Funding will be available from 2017/18 to 2020/21.

http://centreofenterprise.com/2014/07/0 ... -solihull/

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

It's great news today that HS2 Ltd will move their HQ to Birmingham next year, what also will be announced is a green light for the scheme to extend the Metro onwards to Adderley Street. Whilst only a small extension at this stage it is a small step towards the Metro eventually being extended to BHX, NEC, Resorts World, Birmingham Business Park and the HS2 Interchange.

1,500 HS2 jobs for Birmingham in largest-ever public sector move

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

A link to the strategic business case for the A45 SPRINT rapid transit scheme. Looking at the pictures it appears it will eventually become a circular loop from Central Birmingham along the A45 to the Airport/NEC/Resorts World/HS2, round to Birmingham Business Park then back through Marston Green and Bordesley Green into the City Centre again.

http://centreofenterprise.com/wp-conten ... s-Case.pdf

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

The new bridge for the A45 improving access to the NEC and airport has been approved with work to begin in January 2015.

New £8.3m bridge to improve Birmingham airport access
Mark Frary | Aug 18, 2014 |

A new bridge for the A45 in Solihull will improve links to Birmingham International Airport and the NEC. The Department for Transport has agreed to fund a new £8.3m bridge, Baroness Kramer has announced.

Work can now commence on the A45 South Bridge in Solihull

Baroness Kramer said:”The A45 serves important sites including, and employers such as Jaguar Land Rover. This new bridge will reduce congestion and improve safety, and include new pedestrian and cyclist facilities.

“The £8.3 million the government is putting into this project is part of our wider economic plan of investment in our local and national infrastructure to help drive economic growth.

a45“The new bridge will replace the existing 150 year old structure carrying the westbound carriageway of the A45 over the West Coast Main Line. It will create an extra westbound running lane and an improved access slip road to Birmingham International Airport. A temporary bridge will be created during the work, allowing the route to remain open throughout.”

Work on the bridge will start in January 2015 with completion in August 2016. The full project cost is £12 million

http://www.publicsectortravel.org.uk/20 ... rt-access/

 

[BHXsupporter]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

I hope they allow the span to accommodate any possible increase in track width e.g. to 4 lines.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

That's a good point, if the bridge is being rebuilt it would certainly make sense to future proof it.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

Looks as if the area is going to be a real nightmare for the next 18 months or so but it's works that definitely need doing.

A45 Road Widening Works to Birmingham Airport to Start

A three month programme of road works will start next Tuesday evening (26th August) to widen the A45 (Coventry Road) westbound carriageway into Birmingham Airport.

The works, costing approximately £1m, have been commissioned and funded by the airport and will improve the traffic flow and ease congestion for passengers and users of the airport.

Bob Graham, the Airport’s Operations Director, said, “This section of road is a vital access point to the airport from the M42 and A45 so we’re making this investment now to provide the infrastructure to support our expected growth in the coming years.”

These widening works are being carried out ahead of Solihull Council’s reconstruction of the A45 South Bridge, which will start in early 2015. This is the first step to improving key strategic transport links which will bring significant economic benefits to the borough.

From Tuesday evening, the exit slip road from the roundabout at junction 6 of the M42 onto the A45 westbound carriageway will be closed and will remain so for the duration of the scheme, which is scheduled to end on November 21st. The slip road closure is to ensure driver and construction worker safety.

The free flow link between the M42 northbound carriageway and A45 westbound will remain open, and vehicles using this link will be unaffected by the works.

Vehicles wishing to join the A45 westbound carriageway towards the airport from the M42 J6 roundabout will be diverted onto the A45 eastbound carriageway, where they can then access the westbound carriageway at the ‘Stonebridge’ roundabout.

Installation of traffic management measures will start at 8pm on Tuesday 26th August, with a five hour closure of the free flow link from the M42 northbound carriageway onto the A45 westbound carriageway from 10pm. The entry slip road into the airport from the A45 westbound will be closed for four hours from 11pm. During this short period, traffic will be diverted into the airport via ‘Stonebridge’ roundabout, the A452 and B4438.

Road signage is now in place and information, including diversion maps, can be viewed via the airport’s website at http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/tran ... y-car.aspx

Drivers are advised to leave extra time for their journeys to the airport during the works.

The works have been awarded to North Midland Construction Plc.

The A45 South Bridge works on the westbound carriage will be managed by Solihull Council, and will commence in the new year following a funding announcement by the Department for Transport earlier this week.

http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta ... start.aspx

 

[Brum X]

Night Buses in Birmingham.

Returned back from my holiday in Gran Canaria last night, had a great time.

I had to make a choice, do i pay around £25 for a cab back into the city centre or try the 97A night bus that would cost £2.10 ??????
I decided on the bus, had to wait around 30 mins and bus arrived on time at 02.17am (Buses depart BHX at 17mins past each hour until around 5amish) 3 passengers got on board.
What i thought was encouraging was that this service is being used by normal passengers on the entire route into the city centre, as soon as it left Chelmsley wood and heading towards Kitts Green/Heartlands Hospital, people were utilisng this useful bus route, also the bus travelling in the opposite direction from City towards the Airport also had passengers on board at this time of night on a Monday,not traditionally the busiest night of the week.
Its great that they also charge the same flat rate of £2.10 at this time of day, compared to when Night buses used to run in the city at weekends, the operator always increased the fare to around £3/£4 if i remember. One guy who got on at the airport also purchased a daysaver at a cost of £4, obvioulsy he had alot of buses to catch today but what a great offer.
Furthermore to my amazement when i got off the bus at 3am outside digbeth coach station, on the opposite side of the road heading out of city, was a 900A bus with passengers on board and also stopping at the next bus stop to let somebody on, when did the 900 start running at nighttime i asked myself ?? In a week since being in Brum, has my home city turned into a 24 hour metropolis ????????
It seems that it actually is abeit very slowly turning into that way as i have checked the 900 timetable at a city centre bus stop today (getting back into the swing of normal life) there are for example buses on the 900 route that leave the city centre at 02.55 and 03.55 (Monday to saturday) from city centre towards Coventry via Airport/NEC.
This is a great new devlopment for Birmingham and makes the connectivity of the city and its Airport more connected and affordable for normal people like myself who wants quick/efficient/not too expensive travel options.

Not Airport connected but i have heard its only a matter of time that night buses will be running on the number 50 bus from city towards Moseley, if this happens then it really would be a great move and one that i can see being very popular and not just at weekends.

:good: :good: :good:

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

The cleaner at my work uses the 97 night bus as he generally arrives very early morning. It's good to see it popular, I guess it's great for early risers and shift workers as well as airport pax. Does the route go past Birmingham Business Park and down the Chester Road into Chelmsley Wood, I imagine that to be the most logical?

I didn't realise the 900 was back doing nights either but it's another good addition and I imagine much quicker to/from Central Birmingham than the 97.

 

[Brum X]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

The cleaner at my work uses the 97 night bus as he generally arrives very early morning. It's good to see it popular, I guess it's great for early risers and shift workers as well as airport pax. Does the route go past Birmingham Business Park and down the Chester Road into Chelmsley Wood, I imagine that to be the most logical?

I didn't realise the 900 was back doing nights either but it's another good addition and I imagine much quicker to/from Central Birmingham than the 97.

Im not too familiar with the roads around that area but i do believe it did or indeed very close too. It was very dark, LOL

To be fair the 97A only took 35 mins but yes the 900A would go down smallheath carriageway and then straight onto the Coventry Road towards the Airport.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

After Mr Kehoe's comments about the lack of Shropshire folk using BHX it's good to see they have a new rail link to London, which will stop at BHX, starting in December. It's 2x daily Mon-Sat and daily on Sun.

Also there is a possibility we may see a new link road built from the M54 to the M6 Toll which we definitely make BHX more accessible for those along the M54 corridor meaning they can avoid the dreaded M6 car park between junctions 10 and 4.


http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-p ... link-road/

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

With the A45 improvements currently underway I think there is already, or there has been, some work on remodeling Junction 6 but anyone who is a regular to the area will know the whole place is chaos at certain times of the day and even worse when there is a decent size show on at the NEC. With the huge Resorts World complex opening next year and the HS2 station on the horizon then a complete rebuild will definitely be welcome.

New £250m motorway junction to boost Birmingham Airport and high speed rail

City is at the centre of network of "smart motorways", says Department for Transport.

A new motorway junction costing more than £250 million will benefit Birmingham Airport and make it easier to use a planned high speed rail station, Ministers have pledged.

Birmingham’s business leaders welcomed plans to rebuild junction six of the M42, which connects the motorway network with the A45, a main road running from Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... st-8205552

 

[Brum X]

BHX Arrivals/Departure screens at the New "New Street Statio

I recently sent an email to Paul Kehoe regarding my idea for this as i felt it would really make people aware of the flights available from BHX to more people who are not aware of the kind of destinations available from our airport. I am getting a bit fed up of people not even knowing you can fly direct to New York or Toronto from BHX and as alot of people start there journeys from New Street Station and which is well connected to the airport, i think this would really make the airport more visible in the city centre. People boarding there trains to London Euston or even just Longbridge on the local cross city line would see places like New York JFK, New York Newark, Dubai, Delhi Via Amritsar Rajah, Islamabad, Barbados, Montego Bay, Toronto and Orlando. All the Long haul destinations served by BHX as well as our European routes too Like Berlin and Oslo etc etc etc.

This was my reply from him:Alan

Thanks for the reminder, I thought I had replied to your email whilst I was away in Athens. Clearly I didn't.

We have been in dialogue with Virgin trains and Network Rail about the very things you suggest and I am hopeful, we can overcome some of the obstacles and promote BHX more widely across the rail network.

We are also trying to get earlier and later trains timetabled so that we can offer greater connectivity to all our customers and potential customers too.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to write and remind and for your continued support. Please watch out for more developments at BHX, hopefully soon.

Best wishes

Paul

 

[Brum X]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

I was also encouraged by " Please watch out for more developments at BHX, hopefully soon."


Mmmmmmmmmm i wonder what that is going to be ?????????

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

Thanks for posting the reply, sounds very positive.

I seem to remember a couple of years ago BHX wanted Birmingham International Station renamed to Birmingham Airport Station as if you enter 'Birmingham Airport' into the online train timetable it says nothing found, even though BHX is on the West Coast Mainline. If memory serves the NEC were the fly in the ointment also wanting the station to carry their name so hopefully something is close to being sorted.

Departure/arrivals screens at New Street would be the icing on the cake and I'm sure there must be advertising oportunites which could be a nice little earner.

I was also encouraged by " Please watch out for more developments at BHX, hopefully soon."


Mmmmmmmmmm i wonder what that is going to be ?????????

That definitely sounds like something is due.

There has been one or two rumours doing the rounds again lately but if I had to bet I'd probably go for the Flybe announcement, which is rumoured to be on the 9th but the Emirates third daily rumour definitely seems to be getting stronger.

 

[User0001]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

I believe Emirates is due to announce its plans for the UK in 2015, in the next few weeks.

This will reportedly include:

A 3rd daily flight to BHX
A 4th daily flight to Manchester
EK15/16 at LGW to go A380
A dedicated cargo service to a yet un-named UK airport (existing EK airport)

Apparently a decision is also due soon on what EK intend to do with the DXB-MXP-JFK flight, its either to be cut fully (hence the 3rd A380 to JFK), or, routed via the UK.

 

[Brum X]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

I believe Emirates is due to announce its plans for the UK in 2015, in the next few weeks.

This will reportedly include:

A 3rd daily flight to BHX
A 4th daily flight to Manchester
EK15/16 at LGW to go A380
A dedicated cargo service to a yet un-named UK airport (existing EK airport)

Apparently a decision is also due soon on what EK intend to do with the DXB-MXP-JFK flight, its either to be cut fully (hence the 3rd A380 to JFK), or, routed via the UK.

Ooooooh you have got me excited ;-)

 

[Brum X]

Re: Road, Rail & Access Issues

Sorry User001 but can you post this on our Emirates page please, this is for Rail, Road access stories.

Thanks



:good: