Those who have taken the train to Birmingham Airport (BHX) in the United Kingdom will be familiar with the necessity of using the Air-Rail Link dedicated passenger line from the station to the terminal. The shuttle is currently a cable traction system, but do you know that it has used "magnetic levitation" technology before. This started in 1984 and ended only 11 years later. But why exactly?
Birmingham Airport in West Midlands, England, made history in 1984. This is so because it designed an innovative solution to connect its terminal to the nearby Birmingham International Railway Station. Specifically, it uses "magnetic levitation" technology to run an automated personnel carrier along a 600-meter-long concrete rail.
This technology uses the repulsive magnetic force between the space shuttle and its orbit to "circle" 1.5 cm in the air. The Birmingham maglev train is powered by linear induction motors and "flies" between the train station and the terminal.
According to maglev.net, futuristic transportation speeds are as high as 26 mph (42 km/h). The system is well received by passengers and is known as the world's first commercial maglev transportation system. However, it did not last long.
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Although the Birmingham maglev train was initially popular among passengers who wished to transfer between the terminal and the station, it quickly ran into reliability problems. A common problem is the electrical failure of the magnetic transportation system.
Interesting fact! Birmingham Airport is home to the world's first commercial maglev transportation system. Everyone looks happy, isn't it pic.twitter.com/OXk7n8U7mz
— Tim Dunn (@MrTimDunn) January 12, 2021
These problems are caused by the obsolescence of the Birmingham maglev electrical system. The unreliability eventually reached the point where the airport chose to shut down the suspended personnel mover. After 11 years of operation, it did so in 1995. After the last service ended on June 18, Birmingham Airport replaced the maglev train with buses.
At the same time, cars from the old transportation system were stored, and one of them was eventually stored in the National Railway Museum. The BBC reported that in 2011, another car was purchased privately for only £100. This happened after the carriage was initially sold on eBay for a bid of £25,100, simply because the bidder did not pay. Needless to say, private buyers bargain!
The shuttle bus that replaced the Birmingham maglev train ran for eight years until a new transportation system reopened on its old concrete rails. Originally known as SkyRail and now known as Air-Rail Link, these automated human movers transport 3 million passengers a year during peak periods. The service is free to use and fully automated.
Unfortunately, due to the temporary closure of the connection, air passengers requiring the railway station have recently been required to take an alternative bus to get there. Nevertheless, the air-to-rail connection has been reopened. It runs most of the day, and the only time when passengers need to take a bus transfer is from 00:30 to 02:00.
Do you know the previous maglev shuttle at Birmingham Airport? Maybe you even continued to use it sometime during its 11-year operation? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Reporter-Graduated in German, Jake is passionate about aviation history and likes to try new aircraft carriers and planes, even if doing so requires unorthodox itineraries. As an avid amateur photographer, he recently reached the milestone of his 100th flight as a passenger. Headquartered in Norwich, UK.