Birmingham Airport could be a realistic option for flying in and out of London when the High Speed 2 rail line opens, experts said today as journey times will be slashed.
Train passengers have been told a trip between the new stations of Old Oak Common in West London and Birmingham Interchange is expected to take just 31 minutes.
The fastest trains between the existing London Euston and Birmingham International stations currently take 65 minutes, but this will be significantly cut when HS2 begins.
Calculations by MailOnline found HS2 could make it take less than an hour to travel from Tottenham Court Road station in London’s West End to Birmingham Airport.
Passengers would board the Elizabeth line to Old Oak Common, taking an estimated 11 minutes, followed by a five-minute change onto another platform for an HS2 train.
Upon arrival at Birmingham Interchange, they would have another five-minute change before a six-minute journey on the new ‘Automated People Mover’ to the airport.
This gives a total journey time of 58 minutes – roughly in line with the hour it takes to get from Tottenham Court Road station to Luton, Stansted or Southend airports.
Heathrow and City would remain the closest airports to Tottenham Court Road by rail, both taking about 35 minutes – while Gatwick can be reached in about 50 minutes.
Travel expert Nicky Kelvin told MailOnline that the significantly reduced journey times are ‘always going to be a big win for passengers’, adding that HS2 could make Birmingham Airport ‘a viable addition to some Londoners’ when choosing flights.
An artist’s impression of the new Birmingham Interchange station near Birmingham Airport
Birmingham Interchange HS2 station (artist’s impression, above) will be connected to the airport by an ‘Automated People Mover’ taking six minutes, which can be seen bottom right
The ‘Automated People Mover’ will run between the HS2 station and airport in Birmingham
Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh busiest airport, behind four major hubs in London
But he warned: ‘It isn’t quite that simple though. Ease of access to London airports is highly dependent on the location you’re travelling from in London.
‘For example, those living in Acton will look to Heathrow as just ‘down the road’ versus a potentially hours-long slog across London to an airport like Stansted.
‘This will also apply to those wanting to access airports like Birmingham. For example, trains from London Euston to Birmingham International today take just over an hour, and so for those who can access Euston quickly and easily may already get to Birmingham faster than London Southend – although neither airport is truly located in London!’
Mr Kelvin, editor at large at The Points Guy, also pointed out that ‘perception and knowledge will stop many from even thinking to check flight options from the Midlands’, although HS2 may change this.
He added that cost will also be an important issue, saying: ‘Most London airports can be reached from all over the city using public transport like the Tube – even if journey times are longer – keeping costs comparatively very low.
‘High-speed tickets between London and Birmingham will be far more expensive than a Tube fare, and unless there is incredibly aggressive pricing on flights out of airports like Birmingham, it simply may not be viable for passengers to choose a departure airport outside of the capital.’
Former Eurostar director Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, also told MailOnline that any additional high-speed rail options are to be welcomed as ‘journey times speed up and passengers get more choice’.
He continued: ‘Once HS2 is up and running, it will enable all of us to consider new options to connect to the rest of the world via airports such as Birmingham, due to the shorter travel times.
‘With Birmingham Airport as quick to get to as current options, such as Stansted and Luton, it will enable airlines to add more flights there, and woo passengers with cheaper fares than Heathrow or Gatwick, due to lower landing fees.’
Mr Charles was communications director of Eurostar from 2003 to 2006 and oversaw the opening of the first stretch of High Speed One (HS1) connecting London and Kent in 2003.
He added: ‘Birmingham effectively has the potential to be considered as another London airport in terms of access, especially if travellers’ last stop is in the North London and North West London catchment area, as they can use the new HS2 station at Old Oak Common.
‘The key factor will be how reliable the new line is between Birmingham and London. We won’t know the answer to that until after it has launched!’
HS2 has struggled with delays and spiralling costs, with bosses now expecting the line to open from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Interchange and Curzon Street between 2029 and 2033 with a predicted cost of about £80billion.
Work on connecting the line to Euston was paused and the northern leg to Manchester was scrapped in 2023 by former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Journey times for HS2 have not yet been officially confirmed, but the time between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange is expected to be just over half an hour.
Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2, told an event last month: ‘When we open Old Oak Common station, you will be 31 minutes from Birmingham International, the airport. You’ll be 42 minutes from the centre of Birmingham.
‘(There will be) great connectivity to the West Country, Heathrow airport and, of course, into London on the Elizabeth line. Old Oak Common will become one of the most connected places in the United Kingdom.’
And Birmingham Airport chief executive Nick Barton told the Express and Star in February: ‘The station box will be here, and that can put you into London with the right connecting time in under 40 minutes.
‘The train time from the main interchange to Old Oak Common which is the main contact point, will be 32 minutes from us which is extraordinary. We think we’ll be in Zone 5 of the Tube map – Heathrow is in Zone 6.’
It has been suggested that it could be quicker for passengers to get to London from Birmingham than from Heathrow on the Underground, which takes 36 minutes on the Piccadilly line from Leicester Square.
Mr Barton also told The Independent earlier this month: ‘Having that connectivity into London is going to be extraordinary. So we’re preparing for it now.
An artist’s impression of Old Oak Common station which is being built in Acton, West London
The proposed interior of Old Oak Common which will connect HS2 with the Elizabeth line
Passengers at Old Oak Common will be able to switch platforms in ‘three to four minutes’
‘The link will be attached to our terminal building, and it will allow passengers to get to London in extraordinarily fast times.’
Birmingham is currently the UK’s seventh busiest airport, behind Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester and Edinburgh.
It was impacted by airlines Monarch and Flybe collapsing in 2017 and 2020 respectively, while daily flights to New York also stopped in 2017 – but bosses hope that HS2 could revitalise the hub.
Mr Barton added: ‘It gives choice, doesn’t it? Ultimately, that’s what we want: for passengers to be able to choose which airport they go from and when.’
Passengers arriving at Birmingham Interchange will be able to travel to the airport on the ‘Automated People Mover’ (APM) system which will run on a 1.4-mile long viaduct.
It will transfer passengers between HS2 Interchange station, the National Exhibition Centre, the existing Birmingham International rail station and Birmingham Airport.
Services every three minutes on the APM will transport 2,100 passengers between Interchange station and the airport in six minutes.
Passengers arriving on the Elizabeth line at Old Oak Common – a major new station currently under construction between Paddington and Acton Main Line – will also benefit from a transfer time to the HS2 platforms of ‘three to four minutes’.
Construction work taking place at the site of the Old Oak Common station in January last year
Test designs for an HS2 train at manufacturer Alstom’s Derby factory, pictured last October
An artist’s impression of a early visualisation of a train running on the HS2 network
The Commons Public Accounts Committee warned in February that the cost of building the railway ‘might be close to £80billion’, and described HS2 as an example of ‘how not to run a major project’.
But Mr Wild said last month that HS2 will ‘prove its worth’ and the project has ‘great value, intrinsic value’.
A spokesperson for HS2 told MailOnline today: ‘HS2 is a vital investment in Britain’s economic future and will play a key role in renewing our railways – putting passengers first with fast and reliable journeys.
‘By improving rail connections between London and Birmingham, HS2 creates a corridor of economic opportunity for our regions to trade, grow and thrive.’
And a Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: ‘This is great news for Birmingham Airport and passengers alike, as it will provide more choice for millions of those outside of our immediate catchment area from the day it is connected to the capital.’
