Caledonian Sleeper has announced that it is adding Birmingham International to its stopping locations from 2026.
Passengers will be able to board and alight from the sleeper service from 15th January 2026.
Tickets are now on sale and the service will connect Birmingham with Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness.
Caledonian Sleeper says that the service aims to bridge the travel gap between the West Midlands and the Highlands, which it says has been underserved by other options.
Tickets can be booked via the Caledonian Sleeper website.
Both the south and north-bound trains will call at Birmingham International, and Caledonain Sleeper says that this is the most significant timetable update in 30 years.
Graham Kelly, Interim Managing Director at Caledonian Sleeper, said: “This historic timetable update marks a significant milestone in our mission to further boost sustainable cross border travel options.
“Birmingham is the latest city set to benefit from our high-quality overnight train service as residents will be able to drift off in the West Midlands in their own private room and wake up to beautiful views of the Scottish Highlands. Similarly, we believe our new route will be incredibly popular with leisure tourists from Scotland given the wide range of sights and attractions in Birmingham and across the West Midlands to be discovered.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “From next year, the region will welcome a legend of the railway – the Caledonian Sleeper.
“This iconic service means people from across the West Midlands will soon be able to travel comfortably and sustainably to discover the stunning beauty of northern Scotland.
“But this also means our Scottish friends can come and explore the wonderful West Midlands. That’s a win-win for our tourism and hospitality businesses on both sides of the border.”
Becky Frall, Head of Tourism at the West Midlands Growth Company, added: “The launch of the Caledonian Sleeper to Birmingham offers another great rail option to the city and the wider region, opening the door for more people north of the border and along its route to take a cultural break bookended by ease of travelling in comfort by train.
“From acclaimed Michelin-starred dining, art galleries and world-class cultural institutions including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Royal Ballet, we can’t wait to welcome even more visitors and show off what makes the West Midlands so special.”
Responses
Absolutely brilliant. We have a rail based holiday in planning for next year and this means we won’t need to go down to London to get on the sleeper. Best news I’ve heard all day.
A Manchester stop next? Although this would have to be at Wigan North Western to save time. (The route out of Manchester Piccadilly is torturous). They could rename it Manchester, nearly in Merseyside and Lancashire.
Everyone is banging on about the Birmingham International is for the NEC. Has everyone forgot that Birmingham International Airport is right next door too!
Rubbish
Not a very useful comment! What is rubbish – you haven’t specified which of the 5 other comments you are rubbishing?
A first time for Caledonian Sleeper to stop at Birmingham New Street. Especially when travelling down from Glasgow, Edinburgh and the North of Scotland.
…😆…you seem angry about nothing…..the NEC and connecting train station are in the metropolitan borough of Solihull….and have been since the borough was set up in 1974…… incidentally before the NEC was built…..but..of course Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK..so takes preference when locations are being named…..
The tiltle states “… Coming to Birmingham” but the station is not in Birmingham.
Yes, the Caledonian Sleeper does use the Grand junction route but stopping it at Birmingham International is not going to attract many customers if it means getting on or off it in the middle of the night!
They could park sleeper coaches at the station to be picked up and dropped off there, as was previously the practice with sleeper trains, but this has now gone out of favour it seems.
One or both Caledonian Sleeper services already often use the original Grand Junction route [Stafford – Bescot – Birmingham International – Rugby] instead of the Trent Valley Railway.
The Birmingham International station is, of course, not in the City of Birmingham, just as the NEC is not in Birmingham even though it was set-up by Birmingham City Council, and just as the Bristol Parkway station is not in the City of Bristol.
I wonder what the times will be for pick up and set down at Birmingham International? I suspect that pickup for the journey to Scotland will be before midnight and OK, but setdown on the journey to Birmingham will be in the very early morning hours and not very user friendly, forcing you to get out of bed in the middle of the night.
The sleeper services in BR days used to park sleeper service coaches at each pickup and setdown station, and these coaches were attached to the sleeper train when it stopped at the station. You could thus board and alight from sleeper coaches at an hour that suited you, rather than when the sleeper train got to your station.
I used to use the sleeper in this way to travel from Carlisle to London. Now however, the sleeper services do still stop at Carlisle but at about 1.30am going to London, and just after midnight, going to Scotland, neither of which is very attractive if you want a full night’s sleep!
Just checked the times. 2245 at International going up. 0830 at Inverness. Ideal.
Coming back is 2000 from Inverness, 0620 at International. Not bad.