Birmingham Transportation

Getting There: By Air: Birmingham International Airport (BHX) (http://www.bhx.co.uk/) serves the city and houses the following airlines:

Aer Arann (+44 800 587 2324/ http://www.aerarann.com/)

Aer Lingus (+44 845 084 4444/ http://www.aerlingus.com/)

Air France (+44 845 084 5111/ http://www.airfrance.com)

Air Malta (+44 845 607 3710/http://www.airmalta.com/)

Air Slovakia (+44 870 011 0870/ http://www.airslovakia.sk)

Air Transat (+44 0121 767 7768/http://www.airtransat.com/)

Air India (+44 208 560 9996/http://www.airindia.com/)

Alitalia (+44 870 544 8259/http://www.alitalia.com)

BMI Baby (+44 870 264 2229/http://www.bmibaby.com/)

British Airways (+44 870 850 9850/http://www.british-airways.com)

BritishJET.com (+44 800 091 2222/http://www.britishjet.com)

City Airline (+44 870 220 6835/http://www.cityairline.com/)

Continental Airlines (+44 845 607 6760/http://www.continental.com)

CSA Czech Airlines (+44 870 444 3747/http://www.czechairlines.com/)

Cyprus Airways (+44 208-359-1333/http://www.cyprusairways.com/)

Eastern Airways (+44 1652 680 600/http://www.easternairways.com)

Emirates (+44 870 243 2222/http://www.emirates.com/)

Eurocypria (+44 121 767 7704/5; http://www.eurocypria.com/main/default.aspx)

European Air Charter (+44 1202 58 1111/http://www.eaac.co.uk/)

Excel Airways (+44 121 767 7768/http://www.xl.com/)

First Choice Airways (+44 870 757 2757/ http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/)

Flybe (+44 871 700 0123/http://www.flybe.com)

Germanwings (+44 870 252 1250/http://www.germanwings.com/)

Iberworld (+44 121 767 7704/5/http://www.iberworld.com/)

Islandsflug (+44 354 570 8030/http://www.islandsflug.is/)

KLM (+44 8705 07 4074/http://www.klm.com/)

Lufthansa (+44 8457 73 7747/http://www.lufthansa.com/)

Mahan Air (+44 121 554 1555/http://www.mahanair.co.uk/)

Monarch Scheduled (+44 8700 40 5040/ http://www.flymonarch.com/index.asp)

MyTravel Airways (+44 121 767 7704/5/http://www.mytravelairways.com/)

MyTravelLite (+44 8701 564 564/http://www.mytravelairways.com/)

Pakistan International Airlines (+44 121 236 3667/ http://www.piac.com.pk)

Ryanair (+44 871 246 0000/http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN)

SAS (+44 870 607 2777)

Sky Europe ( +421 2 4850 1111/ http://www.skyeurope.com/in.php )

SN Brussels Airlines (+44 870 7352345/ http://www.flysn.com/com/home)

Swiss (+44 845 601 0956/http://www.swiss.com/)

Thomas Cook Airlines (+44 121 767 7704/5/http://www.thomascook.com/)

Thomsonfly (+44 800 107 1517/http://www.thomsonfly.com/)

Turkmenistan (+44 121 558 6363)

Uzbekistan (+44 207 935 4775/8)

Purple Parking ( http://www.purpleparking.com) offers an airport parking service for business and leisure travelers.

Rental Car Companies include:

Alamo (http://www.alamo.com/ 800-522-9696)

Auto Europe (http://www.autoeurope.com/ 888-223-5555)

Hertz (http://www.hertz.com 405-749-4424)

Thrifty (http://www.thrifty.com)

By Rail/Bus/Coach: Travel line (http://www.nexus.org.uk) provides all public transportation information.

National Express Coaches: http://www.gobycoach.com

National Rail (+44 8457 48 4950)

First Western National (http://www.firstgroup.com) offers train and bus transportation.

Eurostar (http://www.eurostar.com/)

The Trainline (http://www.thetrainline.com/)

By Car: Access Birmingham via the M1, M5, M6, M40 and M42.

Getting Around:

Travel Planners: Transport Direct (http://www.transportdirect.info/TransportDirect/en/) is a complete transport journey planner for Great Britain. The site covers train, flight, coach, car route planning, etc. CENTRO (+44 121 200 2700; http://www.centro.org.uk/) is a bus, rail and metro transportation planner for the West Midlands area. Park & Ride (+44 845 606 4446) with locations throughout the city for bus connections.

By Rail:

Eurostar (http://www.eurostar.com/)

The Trainline (http://www.thetrainline.com/)

BritRail, (http://www.acprailnet.com/britrail ; 866-BRITRAIL).

Network Rail (http://www.networkrail.co.uk; +44 8457 11 4141)

By Coach/Bus: National Express Coaches (http://www.gobycoach.com)

Eurolines (http://www.nationalexpress.com/eurolines_microsite/index.cfm)

By Metro: Midland Metro (http://www.travelmetro.co.uk/)

By Taxi: Black Taxi Cabs are convenient and easily hailed from the street. There are main taxi stations located at New Street Station, Stephenson Street and Digbeth Coach Station. If you are traveling long distance or during peak hours, pre-booking is advisable. T.O.A Taxis (+44 121 427 8888; http://www.toataxis.net) provides a 24-hour service and is Birmingham's oldest and most reputable cab company.

Private-hire taxis can be pre-booked as well, and can be quite cost effective. Sky Cars (+44 121 554 5555; http://www.skyradiocars.co.uk) is a top firm here in Birmingham.

By Canal: Consisting of over 200 miles, the Birmingham canal system is a really cool way to see the city. Check out Gas Street Basin near Brindleyplace, which is a turning point for the boats using the Grand Union, Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester and Birmingham Canals. British Waterways (http://www.waterscape.com/)

By Foot: It is easy to get around Birmingham on foot. Most of the major tourist attractions are within walking distance of the city's main hotels. Check out http://www.birmingham.org.uk for more information.

Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Plane -- Three major international carriers fly transatlantic flights directly to Birmingham International Airport (BHX; tel. 0844/576-6000 or 0870/732-5511; www.bhx.co.uk) from four North American gateways. Newark Airport is the only U.S. airport that offers flights directly to Birmingham, with Continental Airlines (tel. 800/5233273; www.continental.com) making the flight every evening (twice a day May-Sept).

In Canada, Air Transat (tel. 866/847-1112; www.airtransat.ca) departs from Toronto-Pearson every Friday, March to September, for direct flights to Birmingham. Air India (tel. 800/223-7776 in the U.S., or 800/625-6424 in Canada; www.airindia.com) also flies from Toronto-Pearson to Birmingham every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Wednesdays, Flyglobespan (tel. 800/663-8614; www.flyglobespan.com) leaves Toronto-Hamilton for Birmingham.

Direct air service between Birmingham and London is almost nonexistent. Many air carriers, however, maintain a virtual air-shuttle service between London airports and nearby Manchester, which is a 1 1/2-hour trip to Birmingham via ground transport. For example, British Airways (BA) operates 12 daily flights from London's Heathrow to Manchester and seven daily flights from London's Gatwick. BA runs about the same number of return flights daily from Manchester to London.

Birmingham's airport lies about 13km (8 miles) southeast of the Birmingham City Centre and is easily accessible by public transportation. AirRail Link offers a free shuttle bus service every 10 minutes from the airport to the Birmingham International Rail Station and National Exhibition Centre (NEC). InterCity train services operate a shuttle from the airport to New Street Station in the City Centre, just a 15-minute trip.

By Train -- InterCity offers half-hourly train service (Mon-Fri) between London's Euston Station and Birmingham, a 90-minute rail trip. Regular train service is also available from London's Euston Station. Trains depart every 2 hours for Birmingham. Birmingham's New Street Station in the City Centre and the airport's International Station link the city to the national rail network.

Trains leave Manchester's Piccadilly Station nearly every hour for Birmingham. The trip takes 90 minutes. Call tel. 0845/748-4950, or go to www.nationalrail.co.uk for train schedules and current fares.

By Bus -- National Express (tel. 0871/781-81-81; www.nationalexpress.com) provides regular bus service, as frequent as every half-hour, between Birmingham and London (2 3/4-hr. trip), Manchester, and regional towns.

By Car -- From London, the best route is via the M40, which leads onto the M42, the motorway that circles south and east of Birmingham. Once on the M42, any of the roads from junctions 4 to 6 will lead into the center of Birmingham.

The drive takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from London, depending on traffic conditions. Parking is available at locations throughout Birmingham.

Visitor Information

The Birmingham Convention & Visitor Bureau (BCVB), 150 New St., in the City Centre (tel. 0870/2250127; www.beinbirmingham.com), is open Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday 10:30am to 4:30pm. The BCVB assists travelers in arranging accommodations, obtaining theater or concert tickets, and planning travel itineraries.

Getting Around

Birmingham's City Centre hosts a number of attractions within easy walking distance. Centro (tel. 0121/200-2787; www.centro.org.uk) provides information on all local bus and rail services within Birmingham and the West Midlands area. For bus use only, a Day Saver Pass costs £3.40 for one adult and is an economical way to use the Centro bus system. For the metro and buses, a weekly Centro Card costs from £15 to £22 depending on what zones you travel. Exact change is required on one-way local bus and train trips. Taxis queue at various spots in the City Centre, rail stations, and the National Exhibition Centre. Travelers can also ring up a radio-cab operator such as TOA Taxis at (tel. 0121/4278888; www.taxinumber.com).