View source for Air-Rail Link

{{short description|People mover at Birmingham Airport}}
{{About|the people mover in Birmingham|airport rail links in general|airport rail link}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name = Air-Rail Link
| color = 0005ff
| image = File:Bham3.jpg
| image_alt = AirRail Link trains at [[Birmingham Airport]]
| caption = The Air-Rail Link connects [[Birmingham Airport]] and [[Birmingham International railway station|airport railway station]] with a pair of cable-driven [[people movers]].
| type = [[People mover]]
| status = In operation
| locale = [[Birmingham]], England
| start = [[Birmingham International railway station]]
| end = [[Birmingham Airport]] (check-in area)
| connectinglines = [[Wolverhampton–Shrewsbury line]], [[Cambrian Line]], [[Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line]], [[West Coast Main Line]], [[CrossCountry network]]
| stations = 2
| ridership2 = 3 million passengers per year
| website = https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/
| open = 7 March 2003
| owner = Birmingham International Airport Limited
| character = Elevated, cable-hauled system
| linelength_km = 0.585
| tracks = 2
| speed_km/h = 36
| map = {{Air-Rail Link|inline=1}}
| map_state = collapsed
}}
The '''Air-Rail Link''' is a [[people mover]] linking [[Birmingham Airport]] with [[Birmingham International railway station]] and the [[National Exhibition Centre]] in England. The current system, originally known as '''SkyRail''', replaced the earlier '''Birmingham Maglev''' system in 2003.

The current system is a fully automated cable-hauled system. It takes passengers between the high-level railway station concourse and the airport terminal buildings, covering a distance of {{convert|585|m}}. It is free to use, and handles three million passengers per year. At off-peak times, the system operates on demand using call buttons. The Air-Rail Link was constructed between 2001 and 2003 using the [[Cable Liner]] technology from [[Doppelmayr Cable Car]]; it was the firm's first airport system.

The Birmingham Maglev, opened in 1984, was the first commercial [[Maglev]] transport system in the world. Constructed during the early 1980s by a [[consortium]] under contract from [[West Midlands County Council]], the system was fully automated and used an elevated concrete guideway (the majority of which has been reused for the current Air-Rail Link system). Propulsion and braking were performed using [[linear induction]] motors while sensors regulated the vertical and lateral air gaps to assure ride quality and minimise power consumption.<ref name = "newscience 1984"/> The system had a journey time of 90 seconds and could move up to 3,200 passengers per hour in either direction. It was discontinued in 1995 due to a lack of spare parts and obsolescence issues; the cost of its reinstatement as a maglev was deemed to be too great.

==Maglev==
{{Further|Maglev#Birmingham, United Kingdom, 1984–1995}}
[[File:Birmingham International Maglev.jpg|thumb|The original Birmingham International maglev shuttle]]
Initial feasibility studies for a link from the airport to the railway station and exhibition centre were started in 1979 by the owners of the airport at that time, [[West Midlands County Council]].<ref name="hansard-1999"/> Decision makers were opposed to the construction of a conventional railway to meet this need.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.wired.com/story/british-hyperloop-hovertrain-maglev-trains/ |title = The strange tale of the hovertrain, the British hyperloop of the 1970s |website = wired.com |first = James |last = Temperton |date = 2 June 2018}}</ref> The selected solution was based on experimental work commissioned by the British government at the [[British Rail Research Division]] laboratory at [[Derby]]. During 1981, contracts were awarded to a consortium of [[General Electric Company|GEC]], [[Balfour Beatty]], [[Brush Electrical Machines]] and [[Metro-Cammell]] under the name "People Mover Group", along with [[John Laing Group|John Laing]].<ref name="hansard-1999"/><ref name = "newscience 1984"/><ref>{{cite journal |url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231148705_Maglev-a_British_first_at_Birmingham |title = Maglev-a British first at Birmingham |date = November 2002 |journal = Physics in Technology |first = M.G. |last = Pollard |volume = 15 |DOI = 10.1088/0305-4624/15/2/I04}}</ref>

Metro-Cammell performed the bulk of the manufacturing of the carriages at its [[Washwood Heath]] plant.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11780663 |title=Birmingham Airport's old Maglev carriage to be sold |date=17 November 2010 |access-date=28 November 2010 |publisher=BBC News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101118063627/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11780663 |archive-date= 18 November 2010 |url-status= live}}</ref> During the construction phase of the system, several difficulties were encountered. One was that, due to there being no contact between the concrete guideways and the trainers, conventional [[speedometer]]s would not function. One major setback came out of the decision made by one company to reinforce the bottom of the carriages of an early train with an additional layer of [[fiberglass]]; while increasing structural strength, this choice had also increased the overall weight of the train, which was already relatively heavy, and meant that the electromagnets were unable to reliably keep the train afloat. Due to this unsatisfactory performance, a new train had to be produced to replace it.<ref name = "railtech 2022">{{cite web |url = https://www.railtech.com/rolling-stock/2022/03/29/the-journey-of-the-maglev-train/ |title = The journey of the Maglev train |website = railtech.com |first = Rijkert |last = Knoppers |date = 29 March 2022}}</ref>

On 16 August 1984, the system was officially opened;<ref name="hansard-1999">{{cite web |publisher = [[Hansard]] |url = http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo990526/text/90526w08.htm |title = House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 May 1999 (pt 8): Passenger Transit System |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605025834/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo990526/text/90526w08.htm |archive-date=5 June 2011 |date = 26 May 1999}}</ref> this launch date came four months later that the original project schedule had intended.<ref name = "newscience 1984">{{cite magazine |url = https://trid.trb.org/View/203071 |title = Birmingham Maglev off to flying start ART |last = Hamer |first = M. |magazine = [[New Scientist]] |volume = 101 |issue = 401
|publisher = Red Business Information |ISSN = 0262-4079 |date = 15 March 1985}}</ref> The system had a theoretical maximum capacity of 3,200 passengers per hour in either direction, which were carried in a pair of twin-carriage trains that could accommodate up to 80 passengers at a time. Each train operated on independent tracks and took around 90 seconds to perform a one-way trip, during which it would attain a maximum speed of {{convert|40|mph}}.<ref name = "newscience 1984"/><ref>{{cite news |title = A train without wheels is just what Birmingham Airport ordered |newspaper = [[Financial Times]] |date = 9 November 1982}}</ref> The trains were both propelled and braked using [[linear induction]] motors that were located, along with the [[electromagnet]]s, underneath the carriages. A key element of the system were the sensors that regulated the vertical and lateral air gaps, the function of which was both to assure ride quality and minimise power consumption.<ref name = "newscience 1984"/> Control of both the motors and magnetic levitation was achieved via [[automatic train operation]]. The track was {{convert|600|m|0}} in length, and trains "flew" at an altitude of {{convert|15|mm}}.<ref name = "newscience 1984"/>

Over an eleven year period, the system operated successfully and without major incident, however, [[obsolescence]] issues related to the electronic systems, as well as a lack of spare parts, led to it being increasingly unreliable during its later years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goodall |first1=Roger |title=Maglev – an unfulfilled dream? |date=2012 |page=6 |url=https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/conference_contribution/Maglev_an_unfulfilled_dream_/9552941 |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726050823/https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/conference_contribution/Maglev_an_unfulfilled_dream_/9552941 |url-status=live}}</ref> Even by the early 1990s, it remained unique, with no other sites having opted to deploy the system.<ref>{{cite magazine |url = https://trid.trb.org/View/383063 |title = A REVIEW OF PEOPLE MOVER SYSTEMS AND THEIR POTENTIAL ROLE IN CITIES |last = North |first = B. H. |magazine = PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: TRANSPORT |date = May 1993 |pages = 95-110 |volume = 100 |issue = 2}}</ref> On 18 June 1995, the system operated for the final time; by this point, an investigation had concluded that the cost of reinstating and maintaining the Maglev would be too high. Initially, the carriages for the Maglev were stored by the airport owners, Birmingham International Airport Ltd., on the airport site.<ref name="hansard-1999"/><ref>{{cite web |publisher = [[Birmingham Mail]] |url = http://www.birminghammail.net/news/solihull-news/tm_objectid=17662730&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=new-plan-aims-to-bring-the-maglev-back-name_page.html |title = New plan aims to bring the Maglev back |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522011843/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/solihull-news/tm_objectid%3D17662730%26method%3Dfull%26siteid%3D50002%26headline%3Dnew-plan-aims-to-bring-the-maglev-back-name_page.html |archive-date=22 May 2011 |first = Anna |last = Jeys |date = 1 September 2006}}</ref>

A model of the Birmingham Maglev, together with one of the Maglev carriages (number 3), can be found in [[Locomotion Museum|Locomotion]] in [[Shildon]]. A second carriage (number 1) resides at [[Railworld]]. The third carriage (number 2) was put up for sale in an auction on [[eBay]] in late 2010<!--Item #190469358831, ended 2010-11-26--> after lying unused at the airport since the system's closure. It was initially sold for £25,100, with the proceeds to go to two charities, but the bidder [[Default (finance)|defaulted]] and it was resold to a private buyer near [[Kenilworth]] for just £100.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/solihull-news/2010/11/18/maglev-up-for-sale-on-ebay-97319-27671745/ |title=Maglev up for sale on ebay |newspaper=Birmingham Mail |first = Emma |last = Deadman |date=18 November 2010 |access-date=18 November 2010 |archive-date=30 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930132146/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/solihull-news/2010/11/18/maglev-up-for-sale-on-ebay-97319-27671745/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2010/11/27/carriage-from-birmingham-airport-s-gliding-maglev-train-sells-for-25-100-97319-27725955/ |title=Carriage from Birmingham Airport's gliding Maglev train sells for £25,100 |date=27 November 2010 |access-date=27 November 2010 |newspaper=Birmingham Mail |archive-date=30 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930132232/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2010/11/27/carriage-from-birmingham-airport-s-gliding-maglev-train-sells-for-25-100-97319-27725955/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2010/11/27/25k-deal-for-maglev/ |title=£25k deal for Maglev |newspaper=Express & Star |date=27 November 2010 |access-date=27 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11857791 |title=Birmingham Airport's old Maglev carriage sold on eBay |date=28 November 2010 |access-date=28 November 2010 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-13872105 |title=Birmingham Airport's Maglev carriage resold for £100 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=22 June 2011 |access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref>

After the system's closure, the original guideway lay dormant while a shuttle bus service was operated in its place. However, the shuttle was only a temporary measure until development of a suitable replacement, studies for which commenced during the 1990s.<ref name="hansard-1999"/> During 2003, the guideway was reactivated, albeit in a modified form, for the replacement cable hauled Air-Rail people mover.<ref name="arup">{{Cite web |url=http://www.arup.com/rail/project.cfm?pageid=2529 |title=Birmingham International Airport People Mover |publisher=[[Arup Group|Arup]] |access-date=11 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129092006/http://www.arup.com/rail/project.cfm?pageid=2529 |archive-date=29 November 2007 }}</ref>

==Cable Liner==
[[File:Birmingham airport people mover.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The new system was installed on top of the existing 1980s concrete Maglev guideway structure.]]
The current Air-Rail Link is a cable-propelled shuttle system, using the [[Cable Liner]] technology from [[Doppelmayr Cable Car]]. The 585&nbsp;m-long (1,921&nbsp;ft) line takes travellers from the public transport interchange to the airport check-in in 90 seconds. It is a dual track shuttle with two stations and two trains, each of two cars, operating independently at a speed of {{convert|36|km/h}}. The trains operate at a minimum headway of 120 seconds, consisting of a dwell time at each station of 30 seconds and a journey time of 90 seconds. The individual cars carry twenty-seven passengers at {{convert|0.33|m2}} per person, thus giving a capacity of 54 passengers per train.<ref name="dcc-bhx"/><ref name="dcc-references-p5">{{Cite book |title=References |publisher=DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car GmbH |year=2008 |pages=5}}</ref><ref name = "newcivil 2001"/> During the day, the trains run every few minutes each way. At off-peak times, trains operate on demand, and to facilitate this, a button labelled "DEMAND" must be pressed by the prospective passenger. The line is free to use, and handles three million passengers per year.<ref name="dcc-bhx"/><ref name="dcc-references-p5"/>

The Air-Rail Link was built on top of the previous Maglev guideway, which was slightly shortened by an extension of the railway station concourse to accommodate a low-level bus station. Several modifications were necessary to the guideway; chiefly, the support columns needed strengthening to withstand the higher loads imposed by the cables.<ref name = "newcivil 2001"/> To this end, [[carbon fibre]] plates were bonded to the external face of the concrete columns at positions where the track runs on radius. Furthermore, the track structure was adopted to accommodate the installation of steel guide ways for the cables and running rails.<ref name = "newcivil 2001">{{cite web |url = https://www.newcivilengineer.com/archive/cable-transport-25-01-2001/ |title = Cable transport |publisher = [[New Civil Engineer]] |date = 25 January 2001 }}</ref>

On 30 March 2001, the replacement project was formally launched. The scheme came under a [[Build–operate–transfer|design, build and operate]] contract valued at £10 million and involved multiple companies; design work was performed by [[Babtie, Shaw and Morton]] while [[Siemens]] was responsible for the mechanical and electrical systems and civil engineering work was performed by Fitzpatrick.<ref name = "newcivil 2001"/> Construction took less than two years; the first day of public operation occurred on 7 March 2003. The Birmingham Airport Link was Doppelmayr Cable Car's first airport system and replaced the temporary bus service that had been operating since 1995. The new system has motivated passengers travelling to the airport to leave their cars at home and use public transport.<ref name="dcc-bhx">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dcc.at/doppelmayr/references/en/tmp_1_1762145202/Birmingham,_UK_detail.aspx |title=References: AirRail Shuttle Birmingham International Airport Birmingham, UK |publisher=DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car |access-date=16 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531203650/http://www.dcc.at/doppelmayr/references/en/tmp_1_1762145202/Birmingham,_UK_detail.aspx |archive-date=31 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="arup"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/showpage.aspx?id=175 |title=BHX 2000 – Today |publisher=BHX |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707103209/http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/showpage.aspx?id=175 |archive-date=7 July 2009 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Link Train]], a 7-car long airport system using the same technology in Toronto, Canada
* [[Airport Shuttle Mexico]], airport system using the same technology in Mexico
* [[Free public transport]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121015132457/http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/transport-and-directions/by-train.aspx#birmingham-international-station Air-Rail Link], Birmingham Airport.
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/alco804/4591881122/ Photograph of a Birmingham Maglev car on Flickr]

{{Coord|52.4522|-1.7294|region:GB_type:landmark_scale:2500|display=title}}
{{UK light rail}}
{{Airport rail links in the United Kingdom}}
{{Maglev}}
{{Automated trains and fixed-guideway transit}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airrail Link}}
[[Category:Airport people mover systems in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cable Liner people movers]]
[[Category:Driverless Maglev]]
[[Category:Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Solihull]]
[[Category:Linear induction motors]]
[[Category:Cable car railways in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in England]]