Birmingham Travel Options

In a guest authored article, Sarah Taylor a freelance writer highlights why Birmingham is the enviable heart of connected transport in the UK.

Birmingham travel options

From the local train station to the international airport, Birmingham is nothing if not well connected. Here we look at the main travel options in our sensational and bustling city.

Road

Numerous road links connect the city of Birmingham with surrounding towns and counties but because of the volume of traffic they receive, travel times are not always quite as fast as you’d like.

Main motorways near Birmingham include the M6 and M42 with numerous smaller roads also making up the extensive road network. Although conditions vary from road to road, a recent initiative to impose a 20mph speed limit on approximately one third of local roads has been approved with the scheme scheduled to be enforced from March 2015.

The scheme is intended to increase safety by restricting speeds on residential roads and roads with a large number of shop fronts or which are near schools, parks, leisure centres or health centres.

As well as travelling in your own private vehicle, there are also numerous taxis operating within the taxi for easy travel.

If you’re looking to book a taxi, then it may be advisable to receive quotes in advance of your trip and get everything finalised before you leave. Searching for taxi Birmingham will bring you plenty of results with firms like Minicabster offering the chance to review quotes and book taxis online.

Rail

Birmingham New Street train station is a key part of the city and home to numerous travel connections for those seeking access to public transport. Connections to prime cities such as London are easily available from the station with other areas you can travel to including the likes of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Wolverhampton and Leeds.

Birmingham’s HS2 development will see the first new railway station built in the city centre for more than 100 years with details of the proposed plans already being released.

New Street station’s £600 million renovation, which is also part of the HS2 development, is scheduled to be completed next year – enhancing travel options further.

Air

For those interested in travelling a little further afield, Birmingham International airport is the perfect place. Numerous domestic and international arrivals and departures occur here every day – leaving the doors of travel opportunity wide open.

Recently, the airport announced the addition of direct charter flights between the city and China’s Beijing which will be offered from next summer, in-line with the opening of the airport’s extended runway. This won both Birmingham airport and Marketing Birmingham recognition for their efforts to boost Chinese tourism.