🅿️ Parking & Transport: Birmingham airport (BHX)

[Kevin Farnell]

they found MAN easier as it avoided the M6 through Birmingham and that awful M5 interchange.

The M6/M5 interchange southbound is horrendous. Some years ago, when I was in the process of readying my late Father's house for sale in Bloxwich, I would often go there ecey other weekend accompanied by my then girlfriend to keep the building and garden in order. On the Sunday evening, I would have to get my girlfriend back to Kings Heath. If I got on the M6 at Walsall, there was always a huge queue for a mile or two before the junction with the M5. This was all down to idiots that kept right until the last minute before trying to cross the lanes to exit left onto the M5. This slowed down the traffic in all lanes, encouraging more people wanting the M5 to keep right until the last minute. If all of those idiots had got into the correct lane a mile or so earlier, the motorway would have run smoothly.

 

[Karl C]

On the flip side of this is the excellent rail connections. My sister in law and husband live in Milton Keynes. They won't fly from Luton, which is closer, and insist on flying from BHX and catching the train from MK straight to BHX. Happy days 😃

 

[HPsauce]

On the flip side of this is the excellent rail connections. My sister in law and husband live in Milton Keynes. They won't fly from Luton, which is closer, and insist on flying from BHX and catching the train from MK straight to BHX. Happy days 😃

Likewise, one of my sisters lives at Towcester ( 3 miles north of Silverstone) but always flies from BHX, although actually nearer to Luton. She also uses rail to the International Station from either Northampton or MK.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Do we know if the proposals to restore the Whitacre Link are still alive?

From what I remember it could significantly improve rail connections to BHX, particularly from the East Midlands.

https://www.railnews.co.uk/content/documents/whitacre_v2.pdf

 

[Coathanger16]

Do we know if the proposals to restore the Whitacre Link are still alive?

From what I remember it could significantly improve rail connections to BHX, particularly from the East Midlands.

https://www.railnews.co.uk/content/documents/whitacre_v2.pdf

Given the Link runs straight through the HS2/Arden Cross Triangle, I sadly doubt it will.

Where the link crossed the Chester Road (A452) will be roughly where the multi-storey car park will be.

 

[nancledre]

We cannot even blame Beeching for its closure and I suspect that too much of it has been built on. Great idea, shame about the practicalities.

 

[Nethercote2019]

I can’t see it happening I’m afraid … particularly If you look how long it’s taken so far to reinstate the Moseley line & the rail is already there !

 

[DarloPlaneBoy]

Same for them to reinstate the Walsall to Wolverhampton Line and the line via Darlaston, Willenhall and Portobello is already there. They are apparently saying Willenhall and Darlaston should open in 2024. Look how long it took them to build a Midland Metro Extension through Brum and From Wolverhampton St Georges By the Bus Station to the Train station the other side a distance of less than a mile they are now doing testing. It is going to take ages for the Tram to be extended from Birmingham to Solihull and for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill line built. It took ages for them to decide to electrify the Chase Line from Walsall Platform 1 and 2 to Rugeley as half of the line from Walsall Platform 3 to Birmingham was electrified. Thats the issue our infrastructure takes ages to build. Sprint is no where near complete it was planned with the tram in Wolverhampton for the Commonwealth Games I don't think Sprint will be complete by the time Brum hosts the European Championships. Our Mayor has so many ambitions but doesn't think about how they might be built or on impact. No offence I would not to want to get an Ariculated Veichle from Walsall to BHX that will be probably be more expensive than a £4 daysaver on a Double Decker bus with Leather Seats and wifi combo of the X51 the fastest bus to Walsall now longer because an idiot decided to knock down the Perry Barr flyover and the X1, X12 to BHX

 

[Kevin Farnell]

It took ages for them to decide to electrify the Chase Line from Walsall Platform 1 and 2 to Rugeley

I'm not sure that it was the decision that took time. I was regularly in Bloxwich at the time and the road bridge over the line at Bloxwich North station had to be raised in order to allow room to the overhead electric cables to pass beneath. This took at least two years and meant that the road bridge was closed, resulting in a 3 mile detour to get from ome side of the bridge to the other. There could well have been other bridges along the route that also required raising.

 

[TM3]

Hi all,

I've been travelling a lot more post COVID and recently through BHX. I thought I'd post a couple of discussion topics and tips here to stimulate debate.

BHX is my closest airport by far, I can get there in less than 30 minutes by car but I don't have a public transport despite living in an area with otherwise good transport connections, over 100k citizens and a lot of potential for tourist visits.

I recently travelled from BHX and it struck me how poor the parking provision is there, I sometimes travel from EMA as that is also close and the on sitre parking is so much better there and cheaper.

Firstly I think the way the on site carparks are names if not very early to understand, there are numbered 1 to ,what happenned to short stay and long stay. Also none of the tarifs are clearly displayed, you have to drive right up to the machine to see what the tarifs are.

There is also a really good car park, number 6, which is given over to staff only. I travelled through there last week and all of the on site car parks were full but there was space in car parks 6, however this is exclusively for staff.

There is also a really big car park next to Diamond House which only seemed to be half full.

I can book external parking but this is nearly as close to my house as it is to the airport and the transfer takes ages, I've tried it.

There is actually quite a lot of empty space on the NEC car park which is very close to the airport, but I don't think you can park overnights and there are is no transfer provision.

There is also a lot of unused space on the BHX site and there are some closed carparks right now, even though they fill the main car parks.

I've encloseed a link to Google Earth so you can see the situation : https://www.google.com/maps/@52.4500502,-1.7292682,1273m/data=!3m1!1e3

The main car parks are incredibly expensive, ridiculously expensive if you turn up and pay on the day.

I tip is to park at the station car park which is only £10-12 per day and get the little train to the terminal, this is actually a lot more convenient than the airport car parks. You just have to go into the station itself to pay when you leave. This is easy but they set it out that way because it's for train passengers.

At the end of the day if I go somewhere for a week or less it's still cheaper to do this than getting an Uber to and from the airport, and it't quicker an more convenient.

I welcome comments on the premium setdown but I don't think it't too bad as there free set down is also close. What I do think however is they should clearly signpost that the free setdown is FREE as it's not totally clear there isn't a charge for this too.

Another tip I have for his is if you get in and out of the car really quickly you can do it by the Ibis Budget and it's actually quicker than the premium set down if you're in a hurry as you can walk straight into the terminal from there.

Also I'm having problems accessing the forum on my other computer as it won't let me do it without truning off the ad blocker. I do this but it still doesn't work, I have an ad blocker on this computer I'm using now but the notifiation doesn't come up. At the end of the day I value my privacy and I always have tracking turned off and I think a lot of other people are the same so IMO it would be better if this was removed as the forum needs more active users to keep people interested.

Thanks

 

[Brummiegem]

Car parking has always been an issue at BHX.I think the powers that be are trying to encourage more people to use public transport to get to the airport.Car park 6 incidently was only given over to staff recently,previously we were in car park 5 along with passengers.Staff have been moved around the car parks on a semi-regular basis.We are still sharing this car park with another company as well.Anyway,car parking at airports will remain an issue for many years.Provide public transport that works for the majority is a way forward,but not everyone will use it for many reasons.Basically airport authorities can't win on this issue as you cannot please everybody all of the time.

 

[TM3]

I think the powers that be need to understand that airport customers have free will and how easy and cost effective the airport is to access will determine whether they use it.

Some of the turn up rates at the airport car parks are obscene. I can understand that airports like Heathrow can do this kind of thing because they have a virtual monopoly on most international routes and they get some passangers through there to whom money is no object.

BHX is part owned by the local government with the justification that they need to do that to promote the region. Surely a part of this is to make the whole proposition as good as possible. The best think BHX has to offer is it's location on the UK motorway network.

I'd be totally happy for the airport to sell itself as the easiest airport to get to by road in the UK, which it clearly is but if you turn up an find the the parking is £300 for less than a week's parking you are going to be put off. This also puts a big strain on local businesses which need a competitively priced local airport.

 

[Brummiegem]

I can see where you are coming from,and,i cannot say i totally disagree.Unfortunately with revenues from flights decreasing due to the lo-cost nature of many flights,airports have to get income from somewhere.It is a catch 22 situation,that no easy fix is coming soon.Getting to BHX at the moment by car,can be nightmare due to the ongoing M42 AND A45 roadworks,plus many other roadworks close by,which also affects the bus services getting to BHX.The train is by far the best option for many but as we all know,they too have problems,either strike action or engineering works etc etc etc!!!Sometimes being in the centre of the country is not always favourable.

 

[Coathanger16]

Some of the turn up rates at the airport car parks are obscene.

if you turn up an find the the parking is £300 for less than a week's parking you are going to be put off

Just out of interest, are you booking flights very, very last minute or deciding to drive to the airport only on the day? Turn up rates are always going to be more expensive than booking in advance.

A quick look on BHXs own website has 5 days (4 nights) parking, booked 10 days out at prices between £108 and £141 depending on which car park.

Comparing the same days to Heathrow has a similar cheapest rate of £107 but prices up to £325 depending again on which car park you use. Gatwick has a cheaper rate of £80 with a top rate of £275.

 

[rollo]

Just looked at prices for the last week of June and car park seven (Elmdon site) £99.99 and car park five £119.99 , you can get a 10% discount off those with a promo voucher.

 

[TM3]

I made a business journey at very short notice so I couldn't do the pre-booking but I actually used to do these journeys quite a lot a few years ago and park in what is now car park 5 and it wasn't all that expensive.

I know you can pre-book but that isn't really the issue.

A lot of people don't pre-book which is why the airport charges the astronomical fees. What makes it worse for me is the fact you can;t work out how much it will be in each car park until you actually drive up to the machine. This makes it very difficult to work out which car park is the cheapest.

At the end of the day all the car parks were full anyway so the airport lost out on my money as I parked on the station car park which is owned by network rail.

The airport has access to a heap of land and they should ensure there is enough parking for anyone who turns up on site as far as I am concerned.

At the very least there should always be parking available at the cheapest posted rate as I might be prepared to pay £50 per day but I wouldn't expect the only available parking to be in Car Park 1 and more than twice that, it's a big difference.

BTW I only went away for 4 nights so the £42.50 + VAT I paid at the station car park was not too bad to me. I can also claim the VAT back but I woudln't have wanted to pay the > £400 plus VAT which is what I'd have had to pay if I went in the BHX car park.

But also it's about convenience which should be BHX's selling point against LHR for drivers.

Another thing you should look at on the Google Earth link is just how much unutilised parking there is around the NEC which is also in a very good location for the airport.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

I don't really want to see more car parks built than necessary but I think better use could be got from these which are in reality very conveniently located for the airport.

The main independent parking is at Hams Hall, which is 20 minutes and 10 miles away. See the journey on Google maps here:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[DarloPlaneBoy]

You can use car park 5 at the 'new' terminal or the multi storey car park at the old terminal (drive straight up to the top floor.) Alternatively you can go to the Sheldon country park or the public footpath off Bickenhill lane which give you views of the ends of runways 15 and 33 respectively. If going to the footpath at Bickenhill I normally park up at the church and walk from there. Best check on Google maps.

The Multi Storey by the Old Terminal will be Charging soon if it is the Carpark Airport Action use the barriers are there. And also the Top floor is closed at the moment will be open I think in July Airport Action used to use the top floor but then it closed around September or October due to Safety fears due to Ice.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Also I'm having problems accessing the forum on my other computer as it won't let me do it without truning off the ad blocker. I do this but it still doesn't work, I have an ad blocker on this computer I'm using now but the notifiation doesn't come up. At the end of the day I value my privacy and I always have tracking turned off and I think a lot of other people are the same so IMO it would be better if this was removed as the forum needs more active users to keep people interested.

Thanks

I kmow that this is a long way off topic, but I think it's an important issue to address. The cost of hosting the forum has risen significantly in the last few years. This is why a voluntary subscription service was introduced, that supplements the advertising income. So, by using an ad blocker you are hurting the finances of the forum. (if you become a subscriber, you get to view the forum ad free). There have been discussions of blocking users who use ad blockers or, if costs continue to rise, the forum could have to look at alternatives, as to how the forum is funded. Either of these, are likely to reduce the number of active users, not increase them. So, if you value the forum, at least allow the ads to show.

Details of subscriptions can be found here -

https://forums4airports.com/account/upgrades

 

[nbdm]

The main independent parking is at Hams Hall, which is 20 minutes and 10 miles away. See the journey on Google maps here:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

I believe APH have relocated from Hams Hall to be with Airparks on Mackadown Lane.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

Agree with your points about parking price, we have used the railway station car park in the past for short trips because it is so much cheaper.

 

[TM3]

I kmow that this is a long way off topic, but I think it's an important issue to address. The cost of hosting the forum has risen significantly in the last few years. This is why a voluntary subscription service was introduced, that supplements the advertising income. So, by using an ad blocker you are hurting the finances of the forum. (if you become a subscriber, you get to view the forum ad free). There have been discussions of blocking users who use ad blockers or, if costs continue to rise, the forum could have to look at alternatives, as to how the forum is funded. Either of these, are likely to reduce the number of active users, not increase them. So, if you value the forum, at least allow the ads to show.

Details of subscriptions can be found here -

https://forums4airports.com/account/upgrades

First of all, thanks for all your work managing the forum and I understand what you are saying but like a lot of people right know I also have to be careful where I spend my money. I also think by contributing to discussions on the forum I am also adding value by stimulating discussion with other users.

When I look at the forum on my phone I do see the ads but I only comment on my work computer, which for a bunch of reasons I can't disable the security features on.

I appreciate the fact that the forum costs money to run and I would prefer some more targeted ads for things like airport parking, flights and flight compensation which can be provided through a link with services like Awin where the forum gets paid if I buy the services through the link.

I'd be happy to buy the services through those links knowing it was supporting the forum. At the end of the day most of the ads aren't relevant at all and I'm not going to keep clicking on them even if I see them and I know the forum only gets paid if I click on those ads.

Thanks

I believe APH have relocated from Hams Hall to be with Airparks on Mackadown Lane.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

Agree with your points about parking price, we have used the railway station car park in the past for short trips because it is so much cheaper.

Thanks for this. I have parked at Hams Hall in the past and I didn't know it had moved, however the new location is worse for me and probably for everyone on the wrong side of the M42.