Getting to Birmingham
Birmingham is at the centre of the country and is well serviced by the UK's transport network.
Fly in
Birmingham Airport serves 143 direct scheduled and charter routes and offers an additional 279 possible connections worldwide, and plans for a runway extension means this is set to grow. The airport has a railway station and taxi provision for onward travel to the city centre or the University. There are also local and national bus and coach services.
Train in
47% of visitors to Birmingham arrive by train, and all major rail network operators work out of Birmingham's 3 main city centre stations. (Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street). There are regular train services connecting major UK airports and the Birmingham stations. You can use the national rail enquiries site to plan your journey and you can use a postcode if you are not sure where your nearest railway station is. They also offer a search function to find the cheapest fares. There are other sites which also search for the cheapest fares including Trainline, Red Spotted Hanky and Virgin. The further in advance you can book, the better. If you are flexible with the times you can travel then you may be able to save more money.
Drive in
Links to the M6, M5, M42 and M54 are just a short distance from the city centre so it is accessible from all parts of the country. Traffic can be heavy, particularly round the M6, so allow extra time for your journey. 'Rush hour' tends to last from about 7:30am - 9:00am and mostly affects routes into the city centre in the morning and affects routes out of the city centre between 4:30pm and 6:30pm. Motorway routes are also more congested around this time. A route planner can be found on the RAC and AA website, and will show you estimated travel times and several routes. You can also request routes with no motorways.
Getting to the University
The University benefits from excellent public transport links providing access to numerous destinations up and down the UK for staff, students and visitors And the University offers interest free season ticket loans to staff
Rail
The University is the only UK university to have its own railway station on campus, known as 'University Station'. The station is a real asset to the University, making travel by train a convenient option for many.
University Station is only two stops from Birmingham New Street where staff, students and visitors can catch trains to locations all across the country. The journey between the University and Birmingham New Street takes approximately eight minutes. For all timetable information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk
Bus
There are approximately eight local bus services directly serving the University per hour. Numbers 61, X62, 63 and X64 travel to the University's Edgbaston and Selly Oak campuses via the Bristol Road, while the 636 serves the Medical School and Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The services all run frequently from the city centre. Numbers 76, 84 and 448 serve the Medical School providing links to areas such as Solihull, Kings Norton, Harborne, Bearwood and Cotteridge. There is a travel information office outside New Street Station, where you can obtain bus timetables and departure point information. Maps can be found throughout the city centre indicating bus stop locations. For more information on these services visit www.travelwm.co.uk
Park and Ride
There are a number of local train stations that provide car parking and direct links to University Station.
From the south
Selly Oak (2 minute train journey from the University)
Kings Norton (7 minutes)
Northfield (9 minutes)
Barnt Green (16 minutes)
Alvechurch (22 minutes)
Bromsgrove (17 minutes)
Redditch (27 minutes)
From the north
Wylde Green (27 minutes)
Sutton Coldfield (30 minutes)
Four Oaks (33 minutes)
Blake Street (38 minutes)
Shenstone (42 minutes)
Lichfield City (47 minutes)
Taxi
Taxis can be booked in advance and there are several Taxi ranks throughout the city, for example:
Uber also provide a service in the city. You will need to download the Uber app from an app store such as iTunes
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