Fight to name Birmingham station recommences

[bluenoxid]

The Airport and the NEC are fighting it out to rename the nearby station, which many of you will know as Birmingham International. Bewildered passengers have been left lost having arrived at the station to find themselves eight miles from the City Centre.

The airport appears to have asked for it to be named Birmingham Airport/NEC but the NEC want it renamed NEC/Birmingham Airport.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ational-station-should-be-called-8891808.html

What's in a name? Birmingham Airport and NEC battle over what International station should be called

Network Rail's director to reopen files on battle to rename station, having previously rejected the plan due to estimated £1m cost to replace signage


It is Britain's second city with a third-rate reputation. And while Birmingham attempts to convince visitors that its £188m new library and the Bullring shopping centre are worth a trip to the West Midlands, its efforts are being hampered by the confusing names of its train stations. Visitors looking to discover the charms of the city have been left scratching their heads when stepping off the train at Birmingham International, only to find themselves eight miles from the city centre.

They have, in fact, reached the nearest station to the sprawling National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham Airport, when what they wanted was Birmingham New Street. The confusion isn't helped National Rail Enquiries' refusal to acknowledge the existence of Birmingham Airport. It tells travellers: "Sorry, no station found."

Network Rail's director, Simon Kirby, agreed last week to reopen the files on the battle to rename Birmingham International, having previously rejected the plan due to the estimated £1m cost to replace signage.... (read more)

I'll do it for £50 with my mate Dulux and his dog

 

[Zoidberg]

The Airport and the NEC are fighting it out to rename the nearby station, which many of you will know as Birmingham International. Bewildered passengers have been left lost having arrived at the station to find themselves eight miles from the City Centre.
...

Passengers who do not pay attention to what's going on around them, more like.

What thinking conjures up an image of Birmingham International - or any International - station being a city centre one?

 

[SS4]

Idiot passengers more like. The station is named after the area it serves. Should we call Aston "B6"?

 

[Railsigns]

What thinking conjures up an image of Birmingham International - or any International - station being a city centre one?

The thinking of someone who knows that St. Pancras International is a city centre station?

 

[Zoidberg]

The thinking of someone who knows that St. Pancras International is a city centre station?

That's different so it doesn't count. Now if it had been named London International ...

 

[southern442]

What is also funny is that people only think it will cost a few hundred to replace the station name when actually it will cost considerably more.

Here is a list of some of the costs:
-putting up signs
-replacing maps
-updating tons of software on a number of websites and systems, most notably the ticketing and PIS systems
-paying the announcers and announcement systems to re-record the station name

and that is probably an incomplete list, and no doubt the new name will cause confusion with people who have common sense...

 

[starrymarkb]

Idiot passengers more like. The station is named after the area it serves. Should we call Aston "B6"?

Some already do, I already get "I want to go from X Road, B6" at work - ok sir what area is that or can you supply a full postcode?

 

[Cherry_Picker]

International is a stupid name though, and I say that as a local.

 

[Railsigns]

That's different so it doesn't count. Now if it had been named London International ...

Right, so "any International station" doesn't include St. Pancras International? Gotcha.

Not a city, but Ashford International station is in the centre of Ashford.

 

[southern442]

Right, so "any International station" doesn't include St. Pancras International? Gotcha.

Not a city, but Ashford International station is in the centre of Ashford.

No, but if you are given two stations, one called Birmingham international and one called Birmingham new street, what one would you think is closer to the city centre?

 

[Zoidberg]

... Gotcha.

...

Pleased that's settled

 

[Railsigns]

No, but if you are given two stations, one called Birmingham international and one called Birmingham new street, what one would you think is closer to the city centre?

If I knew nothing of the city, I'd have absolutely no idea. New Street could be somewhere out in the suburbs for all I knew and nothing about the word "International" precludes a station with it in its name being located in a city centre.

 

[1e10]

Passengers who do not pay attention to what's going on around them, more like.

What thinking conjures up an image of Birmingham International - or any International - station being a city centre one?

Ditto.

If I'm travelling by train to a new location I get up Google Maps, find where I want to be and then find the nearest train station and note the name of it. I don't just head towards any station named something 'city xxxx' and alight in hope that I may be where I want to be.

 

[southern442]

If I knew nothing of the city, I'd have absolutely no idea. New Street could be somewhere out in the suburbs for all I knew and nothing about the word "International" precludes a station with it in its name being located in a city centre.

I think if they are going to call it xxx street and it has the city name as a prefix then I would be pretty sure it's close to the city centre. For example they didn't call Wood street 'London Wood Street' did they? I suppose one exception to this rule is London fields but even the it's not too far from zone 1.

 

[rebmcr]

"West Midlands Conference Airway"

 

[The Planner]

Nothing will happen unless the Airport and the NEC cough up the cash, simple as. Network Rail has no incentive whatsoever to change it.

 

[Zoidberg]

Nothing will happen unless the Airport and the NEC cough up the cash, simple as. Network Rail has no incentive whatsoever to change it.

... and Birmingham International seems to work for those who do not choose to exercise their degrees in Muppetry.

 

[Class172]

That and the name change itself would only confuse passengers; the old name would still be commonplace - I still hear British Rail and Central Trains an awful lot when on the train.

 

[Eagle]

So what happens when HS2p1 opens and a station that's currently planned to be called Birmingham Interchange opens alongside it?

 

[Manchester77]

That and the name change itself would only confuse passengers; the old name would still be commonplace - I still hear British Rail and Central Trains an awful lot when on the train.

Quite, even Rob Brydon called South West Trains Network SouthEast a few months ago in a tweet, and I can't remember how many people I know who still think Virgin operate XC!

 

[1e10]

Quite, even Rob Brydon called South West Trains Network SouthEast a few months ago in a tweet, and I can't remember how many people I know who still think Virgin operate XC!

This bugs me more than it should. There are plenty of photography sites out there for trains with descriptions reading 'Virgin CrossCountry' service despite the Voyager being in a new livery. You'd think them being rail enthusiasts they would have looked into why the trains got a new livery.

 

[southern442]

Quite, even Rob Brydon called South West Trains Network SouthEast a few months ago in a tweet, and I can't remember how many people I know who still think Virgin operate XC!

Loads of people still call Coulsdon town Smitham and then a non-railway one is Croydon University Hospital, which everyone, including doctors and ambulance crew, still call Mayday.

 

[Manchester77]

Going a tad off topic but the arena in manchester, is now the phones for you arena however there's not a person I know who doesn't still call it the MEN despite the MEN not sponsoring it for a good few years now!

 

[rebmcr]

Going a tad off topic but the arena in manchester, is now the phones for you arena however there's not a person I know who doesn't still call it the MEN despite the MEN not sponsoring it for a good few years now!

"Nynex Arena" lasted a good long while too, despite both the sponsorship AND the company discontinuing the name.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Just call every station in Birmingham "Birmingham International". Then they'll realise how petty their complaint is!

 

[6Gman]

Solihull North for the NEC & Airport ?

 

[1e10]

Simple solution: tell NEC and the Airport that whoever covers the cost for the renaming gets the name.

 

[deltic]

The station is now rather oddly named now that the airport is no longer called international and no international rail services operate from it (ignoring those to Scotland and Wales)

 

[SS4]

Solihull North for the NEC & Airport ?

Surely the trouble with that is that it's roughly equally as far from Solihull town centre and only 2bph linking them iirc. Birmingham is better known than Solihull of course even if the airport lies in the latter (I think)

For best accuracy perhaps it should be called 52.451, -1.725

 

[Eagle]

It's not in Solihull proper though (although it's in the borough, that's actually quite large and includes a lot of rural areas and suburbs).

Perhaps we should go back to the airport's original name and call it Elmdon