Interchange - HS2

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Interchange Station will be part of a new public transport interchange serving Solihull and the West Midlands. It will have links to local roads and the motorway network, making it one of the best-connected places in the UK. The new station will have up to five trains per hour passing through in both directions and will put commuters within 38 minutes of London, making it a catalyst for growth in Solihull. Interchange Station is also the first railway station globally to achieve an ‘outstanding’ certification from the world’s leading building sustainability certification provider, BREEAM. This puts it in the top 1% of buildings in the UK for eco-friendly credentials.

38 minutes to London Solihull will be a new commuter destination for London, catalysing growth.

'Outstanding' sustainability The first railway station in the world to be rated ‘outstanding’ by BREEAM.

1,000 jobs Construction of the station will support 1,000 jobs over five years.

Station design

Interchange focuses on sustainability, maximising natural daylight and ventilation and a station roof design that can capture and reuse rainwater. The station will be built to achieve a ‘BREEAM excellent’ standard and zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption. The designs have also now incorporated sunken rain gardens in the public plaza and an outdoor terrace to the station concourse. Another key change is the creation of a dedicated pedestrian access into the station from the east of the railway, along with cycle access to the new station from the north, west and south-east, through a mixture of dedicated routes.

Station car park

A planning application for revised plans for car parking provision at Interchange Station has been submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

The application is for a reduced number of long-stay, surface level car parking spaces as a result of further design development and engagement with key stakeholders in the area – 4,500 long stay spaces, rather than 7,400. The application focuses on the reduction of the number of spaces, the redesign of the drop and go area and the transportation hub, and the removal of an internal road. The station, platform and bridges remain as per the consented design.

Landscaping

The landscaping has been designed to reflect the surrounding Arden landscape character. Trees and hedgerows will be retained where possible, with tree planting and a drainage pond proposed to provide screening along the edge of the site encourage biodiversity. The pond will be visible from both the automated people mover stop and Interchange Station concourse.

During the design process we carefully considered how to minimise impact on the natural environment, including the Hollywell Brook and protected wildlife species. The automated people mover maintenance facility was moved to a location near the M42 since plans were originally developed to reduce the length of the viaduct and minimise environmental impacts.

Station construction

The 150-hectare site for Interchange Station sits in a triangle of land between the M42, A45 and A452. The station will be linked to the NEC, Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport via an Automated People Mover (APM) carrying up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction. In addition to the APM, the station will be fully integrated with local buses, taxis and private vehicle options.

There has already been significant progress in the area, including the building of a modular bridge over the M42 as part of a remodelled road network that will facilitate access to the new station. They will include the building of two 415-metre long ‘island’ platforms, which will create four platform faces, as well as two central high-speed through lines for services that aren’t stopping at the station.

Interchange Station will pave the way for huge growth plans around the site, which will support 30,000 jobs, up to 3,000 new homes and 70,000m2 of commercial space. These will form part of the UK Central Hub area plans for 70,000 jobs, 5,000 new homes and 650,000m2 of commercial space, generating £6.2bn GVA per year and bringing 1.3million people to within a 45-minute public transport commute of the station.

Inward investment has created more jobs in the West Midlands than any other region outside London. The West Midlands Combined Authority’s HS2 Growth Strategy has the potential to add £14 billion to the regional economy and support 100,000 jobs. HS2 is working with Solihull Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and regional stakeholders to ensure that the region achieves the full potential of HS2.

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What we're delivering for Interchange Station

Automated People Mover

A new Automated People Mover system will serve the station, providing connectivity between Interchange Station and Birmingham Airport.

HS2 in the West Midlands

A comprehensive summary of the jobs, skills and supply chain benefits HS2 has already brought to the West Midlands can be found here.

Automated People Mover

The new Automated People Mover (APM) will transport passengers between HS2’s Interchange Station, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham International rail station and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

The APM will run on a raised track that is 1.4 miles (2.2km) long and between 6 and 14 metres high. It will cross the NEC, West Coast Main Line and M42 motorway. It will be ready when services begin at HS2 Interchange Station.

Other APMs in the UK are at Birmingham Airport, Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport, Stansted Airport and Heathrow Terminal 5.

Services will run every three minutes, carrying 2,100 passengers along the 2.3km route between Interchange Station and Birmingham Airport. The journey will take six minutes.

Building and maintaining the APM

Design

The track will be made of weathering steel, supported by concrete columns.

Weathering steel starts as a fresh, orange-brown colour. After a few years, it changes to a dark brown ‘chocolate’ colour. It’s popular for infrastructure like this because it needs little maintenance, which means less disruption in the area.

The APM stops are designed to be simple and easy to use. Colour will help passengers find their way, while information screens and announcements will provide live journey updates. All stops will be fully accessible.

Maintenance facility

We’ll clean and maintain the APM vehicles in a dedicated facility next to the track, east of where it crosses the M42.

We’ve moved the facility from the original plans. This shortens the track and reduces environmental impacts while maintaining the same quality of service.

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Last updated:

16th Dec 2025