Travel in Birmingham

Birmingham, Shropshire (Inc Birmingham), England Heart Of Inc Birmingham

Recommendation added: 04/10/2006 16:38
By: katygriff (YSUK rating +273)

katygriff has been thanked 0 times for this contribution

"My daily routine is quite easy to follow as it is just that simple. I get up with just about enough time to actually get dressed and put a little make-up on to stop me looking like the living dead. Then I dash out of my house into my car and then onto the train to work. There I spend my day and when I leave I go on the train or the bus, back to my car and home at half 6. You see working in the centre of Birmingham it is important to me that I can get to and from work easily and with the amount of public transport available to me I find I can.

Well seen as I have been working here for over two years now I feel I can comment to you exactly what transport is like here in my home city.

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Trains:

I have to catch a train twice a day and I have to say that 99.9% of the time I am quite happy with the level of service I get. Trains into and out of Birmingham offer a regular and most of the time punctual service to many parts of the country. From Birmingham you can get to most stations all the way from Edinburgh to Devon and the trains do vary from the rubbish Centro trains that I have to catch every day to the nice Virgin trains with their posh first class section.

Now some may not know but there are actually three separate train stations in the city centre. The first and main one is New Street station which is the one I am in twice a day. If you want to get to most of the UK then this is the station to come to. New Street is huge with over twenty platforms but no fear if you go as there are huge screens everywhere letting you know which trains go from which platform.

What I love about New Street is that you can't really get lost as there are members of staff everywhere so always somebody about to ask. The station is clean and there are also plenty of places to get your ticket including quite a few fast track machines so do not worry about train journeys from here.

Snow Hill station is very small and there are not many trains that go from here but mainly ones in and around Birmingham. Good for getting to many local stations. Moor street station is ever so sweet as it is quite old fashioned in the way it looks and you feel like you have stepped into a different time zone. Again not many trains go from here as New Street is the main but worth a look if you are a train fan.

Basically if you want to go anywhere you can do it by train from Birmingham city centre and warnings when the trains are delayed or cancelled are clearly stated to everybody. As far as public transport goes I find the train situation in the city fantastic and to be honest it is my preferable mode of transport in Birmingham.

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Buses:

Wherever you go in Birmingham it is quite likely you will see a bus as there are so many of them. Bus services are extremely regular and mainly provide services to Birmingham and surrounding areas. There are special bus routes so they do not get bogged down with traffic and as far as a way top travel go they are great as they are very reliable. Bus stops are located around the centre so you do not have to walk miles to get to them.

The only thing I would warn you about travelling by bus in Birmingham is that it is not like there is one big bus station. When I say they are all over the city centre I really do mean that so it is a good idea to find out in advance where your bus stop is. To be honest I do not even know where my bus stop is at the moment as it has moved but all you have to do is ask a driver and he will tell you where to go. Also every bus stop is clearly labelled with what buses stop there.

I know three of my work colleagues travel by bus and they are never late for work which is a good sign. As far as coverage though I would probably not count on the buses that much unless you know the stops as it is easier to get the train. At least if you cant get somewhere by train though it is quite nice to know that the buses are a convenient way to travel to surrounding areas.

It is worth noting too that on the bus you can get to many of the sightseeing places around the city such as Cadburys world and the botanical gardens which is quite useful to know if you are having a full day out.

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Metro:

Travelling on the Metro to me is not a good way to travel as it goes to limited places but if you fancy going somewhere such as Wolverhampton or the jewellery quarter then it is extremely quick.

The reason I do not like the Metro is because it is always very cramped especially during peak travelling times. I remember once when I missed the train and I had to catch the metro to work. I was standing up and I might as well have slept with the four people by me as we were so pressed up against each other. I have always found there to be no room though and it reminds me of the London underground which freaks me out a little bit so I hate it.

The good things about the metro though is that if you can catch one then you are guaranteed to get where you want to go pretty quickly as they are extremely regular (about every 3 / 5 minutes) and very cheap. Finding the metro is pretty easy as it is at snow hill train station and you will see the metro symbol around the centre.

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Airplane:

Birmingham airport is absolutely huge with planes going a lot of places in the world. So many flights depart and arrive each day and there are often several to the same destination. We always fly from Birmingham as it is a nice airport again with everything clearly sign-posted from how to get there and then when you are there, what to do.

Most people who travel up to Birmingham should see signs from the airport as they are clearly stated everywhere by the city centre. Parking is available and also a train service which takes you straight there which is quite regular and again cheap.

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Cars:

It is worth mentioning that if you are planning to use a car as your transport in Birmingham then just be a bit careful. I think Birmingham suffers from city driving which basically means people always seem to be in a rush and if you stand still for two seconds you probably will get beeped. Me myself I do not like driving around the city centre as I get a bit scared and being a slow driver I do not think city driving was meant for me.

Parking is good in Birmingham with places that you can park clearly labelled. There is also a lot of places you can park including within the shopping centres, huge multi-storeys and smaller more private car parks. Many of the places you can park have security or cameras so you can feel 100% safe about leaving your car there. I have never had a problem with parking in the centre.

One more thing to note about driving in Birmingham is that it is hard with a lot of roundabouts and a lot of traffic to look out for so do be careful.

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In conclusion I think that transport in Birmingham is pretty good with lots of variation available. I like the fact that there are several ways in which I can get home from work so if one way becomes an obstacle I can choose another. Like any city centre transport is a worry for most people but believe m when I say that Birmingham is great for it. I find all of the people to be friendly and if you ever get stuck then simply ask in the new street train station and they will help you find information not just on trains but all other modes of transport. Also in the past I have asked in shops and the friendly staff have helped me out.

For those of you who have never been to Birmingham to be honest the city centre is not actually that huge. The only trek I find is getting to the jewellery quarter but even there you are close to all forms of transport. It seems wherever you are you will be about a ten minute walk away from public transport or a car park.

If you are going to Birmingham and want any more information then let me know and I will do my best to get it for you. For now though I must go and contemplate my five minute walk to my train, oh the suffering!

Thanks for reading.

xxx"