London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has announced it will introduce a new direct train service linking Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent with Manchester Airport from May next year.<\/p>\n
This hourly rail service will run between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Airport and call at stations in the Black Country, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, giving millions of holidaymakers a direct rail route to the major airport for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n
Currently, those travelling to the airport from the West Midlands must change at Crewe, Wilmslow, or via Manchester city centre in order to complete their journey.<\/p>\n
The route will be rolled out in two phases where phase one will see a new service introduced between Birmingham and Crewe from Sunday 13 December 2026 and phase two will extend this service to Manchester Airport from May 2027.<\/p>\n
From December, the new route between Birmingham and Crewe will start serving 12 stations, including Darlaston and Willenhall which first opened in March 2026. In May 2027, LNR will extend the service to Manchester Airport via four stations \u2013 Sandbach, Holmes Chapel, Wilmslow, and Styal.<\/p>\n
Manchester Airport is the third-largest in the country by passenger numbers, with more than 200 destinations in four continents served by over 50 airlines. The airport serves a number of long-haul destinations that are unserved by any other UK airport outside London, with routes to New York, Atlanta, Toronto, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, and Islamabad, as well as major cities across Europe. It has recently completed a decade-long, \u00a31.5 bllion investment in its award-winning Terminal 2.<\/p>\n
Denise Wetton, integrated managing director for GBR West Midlands and LNR managing director, said: \u201cWe are excited to launch this new service which will provide direct connectivity to Manchester Airport from the West Midlands for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough close collaboration with Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, Northern, and Transport for West Midlands, we are excited to open up greener, simpler travel options for visitors to the airport, making rail the best choice for holidaymakers in the West Midlands.<\/p>\n
“Not only that, this new route will deliver extra services for our existing customers across Birmingham, the Black Country, and Staffordshire, providing more choice for when you travel. We look forward to inviting passengers on board, starting from December.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simon Elliott, network director for rail at Transport for Greater Manchester, commented: \u201cThis is a welcome announcement for Greater Manchester, strengthening direct rail links between the North of England and the Midlands and making it easier for more people to travel to and from Manchester Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cProviding better rail connectivity to the airport supports our region\u2019s economy, opening up access to jobs, tourism and international markets, while giving passengers a simpler and more sustainable way to travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have worked closely with London Northwestern Railway, Northern and Network Rail as these proposals have developed, and we look forward to seeing the benefits of this new service for passengers and Greater Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard Parker, the Mayor of the West Midlands, added: \u201cI’m delighted to see new rail connections between the West Midlands region and Greater Manchester, offering more sustainable transport options for those travelling abroad, and improving connectivity across both regions. This new route also delivers additional services for those travelling within the West Midlands, including to our new stations in Willenhall and Darlaston. I look forward to seeing the first new services run soon.”<\/p>\n
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London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has announced it will introduce a new direct train service linking Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent with Manchester Airport from May next year. This hourly rail service will run between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Airport and call at stations in the Black Country, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, giving millions of holidaymakers a direct [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,16092,913,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-535649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rail-news","category-stations","category-travel","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t