Artist's impression of Interchange Station.

HS2 in Solihull

Solihull is at the heart of the new high-speed railway network, and will pass through the Balsall Common, Berkswell, Hampton in Arden, Bickenhill and Chelmsley Wood areas of Solihull.

Solihull will be home to the new HS2 Interchange Station. Close to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham Airport – it will be a major gateway station for the West Midlands region, connecting passengers to Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester city centres.

Interchange Station will feature two 415-metre-long island platforms, offering four platform faces, as well as two central high speed through lines for non-stopping services. Interchange Station will connect to the NEC, Birmingham International Train Station and Birmingham airport via an Automated People Mover (APM), which will be capable of carrying up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction.

Find out more about our works in the area

Local road network improvements

To ensure that the local road network is fit for purpose when the future HS2 Interchange Station is operational, we are remodelling and improving the existing network and creating new routes on HS2 land. The creation of this new road network is concentrated near the A452 Chester Road, the A45 Coventry Road and the M42.

We have been carrying out works near the A452, A45 and M42 since 2018. We refer to this area as the Interchange area because it will be the home of the future HS2 Interchange Station. Located near to the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport, Interchange Station will be a major transport gateway for the region, providing high speed rail connections to London, Birmingham and the north of England.

Early works for this programme are being carried out by Laing O’Rourke and J. Murphy & Sons known as LM, and main works are being carried out by Balfour Beatty VINCI known as BBV.

Four highways bridges will connect the new road network with existing routes. The first of these new bridges – a 65-metre structure spanning the width of the M42 – was successfully installed in August 2020. The installation was safely carried out under a weekend closure of the M42 between junctions 6 and 7, in both directions, on Saturday 8 August 2020. Careful planning meant the motorway reopened 22 hours ahead of schedule.

We then successfully installed a second bridge over the A446 under a weekend closure along sections of the A452 Chester Road (northbound) and A446 Stonebridge Road (northbound and southbound) between Stonebridge Island and M6 junction 4 in October 2020. We were able to reopen the network 24 hours ahead of schedule.

To take traffic over the future railway route, two bridges have been constructed on HS2 land surrounded by the A452, A45 and M42.

Connecting the new road network with existing routes

LM will remain operational in the Interchange area until summer 2022. In preparation for LM’s departure, work sites in the area are being gradually passed to HS2’s main works contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI, known as BBV. This handover is required because each contractor is responsible for constructing and connecting different parts of the remodelled and improved road network, in preparation for the future HS2 Interchange Station.

To ensure that the local road network is fit for purpose when Interchange Station is operational, LM will continue to remodel and improve the existing network and create new routes on HS2 land, west of the M42, until summer 2022. To date, LM has carried out a series of successful weekend road closures in the area to connect parts of the existing network to the new routes that have been created, and installed new pedestrian footpaths, kerb lines and central reservations in the area.

Upon completion, a new T-junction will replace Northway Island, which is currently located over the M42. A new ‘longabout’ is already in operation outside the Holiday Inn Express NEC, on the way to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). In the future, you will be able to safely access all routes east of the motorway by using HS2’s highways bridge over the M42.

We started the creation of the new T-junction in April 2021 and to progress this programme of works, the direction of travel for road users around Northway Island has now permanently changed. Depending on your direction of travel, you may be redirected from the island, along a short section of the B4438, and back. Direction of travel along the B4438, A452 and Northway will be unaffected, and you will still be able to access all routes in the area. LM will also install intermittent, off-peak lane closures along short sections of the A452, A446, B4438, M42 and the Northway throughout its programme.

Since mid-2021, BBV has been progressing preparations to remodel and improve the remainder of the network east of the M42 and this work is mainly concentrated on HS2 land. BBV will also install intermittent traffic measures along sections of the A452 and A45, and is currently carrying out work along Coleshill Heath Road, to progress other elements of BBV’s programme to build the railway.