Visitors arriving at Birmingham International Airport can now transfer directly into The NEC, undercover and within just a few minutes.

The £10 million AirRail Link shuttle began operating on March 7, 2003. Nearly 1,500 people per hour are able to use the cable-car system connecting the Airport, Birmingham International rail station and the concourse into The NEC.

The link is a key element within the innovative public transport interchange constructed at the station to encourage greater use of rail and bus services.

The AirRail Link will follow the previous Maglev (magnetic levitation) track, the prototype system that transported visitors between the airport and The NEC through the 80s and early 90s.

The system is a fully-automated cable-drawn people-mover, built by the specialist manufacturer Doppelmayr of Austria. The ‘Cable Liner Shuttle’ is already successfully transporting millions of passengers in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort.

Birmingham International Airport is the first location in Europe and first airport in the world to install the system.