To Birmingham New Street · One way · All prices are totals for 1 adult · All service hours
3 transfer options
Not all night: the Air-Rail Link runs 05:42–00:21.
Recommended
33 minutes quicker than the Bus X1 to the city centre, for £2 more.
Train
Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street
Train · West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales
11–23 min rideEvery 6 min05:42–00:21
The Air-Rail Link from the first floor of the terminal to Birmingham International station→Birmingham New Street
1 changeLuggage space
£5total for 1 adult£5 eachBuy ticket2 places to buy
Pickup, hours & luggage
Boards at. The Air-Rail Link from the first floor of the terminal to Birmingham International station, two minutes, free; then any platform for New Street
£5 is the Anytime Day Single, valid on any company's train at any hour of the day shown; children 5 to 15 pay £2.50. From 18:30 an Evening Day Single is £3.50 on any train. "Avanti West Coast only" (£4.80) and "Transport for Wales only" (£4.70) tickets are valid on that company's trains alone; Advance singles from £3.40 are valid on one named Transport for Wales train and nothing else.
Luggage. Racks by the doors and overhead; the link is a level walk-on people-mover built for cases.
Hours. Monday to Friday. Saturdays from 05:34; Sundays nothing before 08:52. Trains at 00:54 and 01:21 exist on weeknights, but the link that reaches the station stops at 00:30.
£3total for 1 adult£3 eachBuy ticketOn National Express West Midlands
Pickup, hours & luggage
Boards at. Bus stop K on the forecourt, directly outside the terminal
£3 for one ride on one bus — tap a bank card or phone, pay the driver the exact fare in cash, or buy in the mTicket app; children 5 to 18 £1.50, under-fives free. A day ticket is £5.50, and tapping the same card is capped at that. The group day ticket is £9.70 for up to five adults, or two adults and four children.
Luggage. A city bus: cases go in the wheelchair and buggy bay or beside you; the operator states no allowance.
Driver meets you in arrivals with a name board→Any address in Birmingham
Per vehiclePre-book
€76total for 1 adult€76 each · about £65 in allBook transferPartner link · through Airport Transfer Portal
Pickup, hours & luggage
Boards at. Driver meets you in arrivals with a name board
Charged in euros: €76 for the sedan, €101 for the minivan. Converted at the European Central Bank's reference rate of 15 September 2026 only to compare it with the local fares; your card's rate will differ a little.
The options are still here — your budget or journey-time filter is drawn tighter than any of them. Widen either one, or reset the filters, to bring them back.
Prices are whole-party totals; group fares are included. Ride times are recorded journey durations — no waiting or onward travel has been added — and road times vary with traffic. Confirm prices and availability with the operator. Going the other way? Birmingham to Birmingham airport: where each one boards and when the first one runs
How do I get from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center?
For one traveler we recommend the Air-Rail Link at £5, 11–23 min: 33 minutes quicker than the Bus X1 to the city centre, for £2 more. The cheapest is the Bus X1 to the city centre at £3, 35–50 min. Every option below is priced as a total for your party and says where it leaves you.
A few things for the rest of your trip
Partner offers
Not transport options · Affiliate links
Data in United KingdomAiralo
An eSIM for United Kingdom, installed before you fly, works in the arrivals hall: tickets, maps, the driver's messages.
A flight three or more hours late, or cancelled at short notice, can be owed up to €600 a passenger under EU and UK rules, depending on the flight. AirHelp charges only if the claim succeeds.
These links pay us a commission. They never change which transfer we rank first.
Arriving late?
Not everything runs around the clock: the Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street runs 05:42–00:21. Outside those hours, the Bus X1 to the city centre is what remains. Set the hour you leave arrivals and the board keeps only what is running.
Traveling together?
nBus group day ticket, up to 5 adults or 2 adults and 4 children. Group fares are already included in the totals.
Luggage
Racks by the doors and overhead; the link is a level walk-on people-mover built for cases.
Prefer one way in?
Every Birmingham option of one kind, against the rest
The Air-Rail Link leaves from the first floor of the terminal and lands on the first floor of Birmingham International station two minutes later, free, 03:30 to 00:30 every day. Ticket machines are in the booking hall; the ticket office opens 05:40 to 21:00 on weekdays, from 06:15 on Saturdays and 08:15 on Sundays.
Finding the stop
The X1 to the city centre and Coventry leaves from bus stop K on the forecourt, directly outside the terminal; the X12 towards Solihull uses stop L. The same buses also call at the bus stands by Birmingham International station, reached by the link.
Tickets
On the bus, tap a bank card or phone on the reader as you board and take a seat — £3, no ticket printed, capped at £5.50 for the day if you keep using the same card — or pay the driver the exact £3 in cash; drivers give no change. Do not tap again when you get off.
The taxi rank
The rank is just outside the terminal building: Birmingham black cabs, all wheelchair-accessible, run by Complete Taxi Management UK with a customer-services representative at the rank. No booking is needed; the meter runs on Birmingham's tariff and any airport barrier charge is added to it.
Uber and Bolt
Uber and Bolt both operate at Birmingham Airport. Bolt says its pickup points are shown in the app and may be signed at the airport; request the ride, then follow the app to the exact spot and check the car and driver match before getting in.
At night
After the link stops at 00:30, and until the first train, the X1 keeps running from stop K outside the terminal: 00:03, 00:45, 01:25, 02:25, 03:25, 04:05 and on through the morning, £3, about 40 minutes to Albert Street via Birmingham Coach Station.
Before you travel
Where each one starts, how long it runs, what it carries
train · West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Transport for WalesAir-Rail Link, then any train to New Street
From
The Air-Rail Link from the first floor of the terminal to Birmingham International station, two minutes, free; then any platform for New Street
To
Birmingham New Street, the main station in the city centre; Moor Street and Snow Hill are a short walk and the £5 ticket covers all three
Luggage
Racks by the doors and overhead; the link is a level walk-on people-mover built for cases.
Runs
05:42–00:21
Journey
11–23 min
£5 is the Anytime Day Single, valid on any company's train at any hour of the day shown; children 5 to 15 pay £2.50. From 18:30 an Evening Day Single is £3.50 on any train. "Avanti West Coast only" (£4.80) and "Transport for Wales only" (£4.70) tickets are valid on that company's trains alone; Advance singles from £3.40 are valid on one named Transport for Wales train and nothing else.
The £3.40 the planner headlines is an Advance single for one named Transport for Wales train, about one an hour; miss it and you buy again. The £5 Anytime Day Single boards anything.
A ticket marked for one company is refused on the others' trains, and four companies' trains leave the same platforms. The saving is 20 to 30 pence; the walk-up £5 has no such condition.
Nothing runs on the railway between 00:21 and 05:42 on weeknights, after 00:03 on Saturday nights until 08:52 on Sunday morning. The X1 bus does, from outside the terminal.
There is no bank-card tap-in on the train here: contactless pay as you go covers no Birmingham station. Buy at the machines in the station's booking hall, at the ticket office or in an app before the barrier.
After 18:30 the walk-up fare drops to £3.50 on any train — the Evening Day Single — so an evening arrival pays less than a morning one for the same ride.
Monday to Friday. Saturdays from 05:34; Sundays nothing before 08:52. Trains at 00:54 and 01:21 exist on weeknights, but the link that reaches the station stops at 00:30.
X1 · National Express West MidlandsBus X1 to the city centre
From
Bus stop K on the forecourt, directly outside the terminal
To
Albert Street, in the city centre by Moor Street station, after Birmingham Coach Station in Digbeth
Luggage
A city bus: cases go in the wheelchair and buggy bay or beside you; the operator states no allowance.
Runs
All night
Journey
35–50 min
£3 for one ride on one bus — tap a bank card or phone, pay the driver the exact fare in cash, or buy in the mTicket app; children 5 to 18 £1.50, under-fives free. A day ticket is £5.50, and tapping the same card is capped at that. The group day ticket is £9.70 for up to five adults, or two adults and four children.
Round the clock: hourly or so through the night (00:03, 00:45, 01:25, 02:25, 03:25, 04:05), every 10 to 20 minutes by day, every 30 in the evening. Sundays every 30 minutes.
It is a stopping bus along the A45 through Sheldon and Yardley: 35 minutes at night and up to 50 in the afternoon peak, against ten on the train.
The other way it runs to Coventry, so check the destination on the front before boarding at stop K.
The day cap works only if every tap is the same card or device; a phone one day and the card the next are two separate fares.
transfer · Airport Transfer PortalAirport Transfer Portal transfer to Birmingham
From
Driver meets you in arrivals with a name board
To
Any address in Birmingham
Journey
25–45 min
Charged in euros: €76 for the sedan, €101 for the minivan. Converted at the European Central Bank's reference rate of 15 September 2026 only to compare it with the local fares; your card's rate will differ a little.
A marketplace: a vetted local company drives, booked through Airport Transfer Portal. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.
A wheelchair van for up to four is offered at EUR 102.
What is the best way from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center?
For one traveler, the Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street at £5, 11–23 min. 33 minutes quicker than the Bus X1 to the city centre, for £2 more. The same holds for a group of up to eight. How we weigh price against time is set out on the fares page, in numbers.
What is the cheapest way from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center?
For one traveler, the Bus X1 to the city centre at £3. Per-person fares multiply with the size of your party and per-vehicle fares do not, so check the total for your group rather than the single fare.
How do I get from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center by train?
One train reaches Birmingham New Street: the Air-Rail Link, £5 for one traveler, 11–23 min. It is not the cheapest way in: the Bus X1 to the city centre at £3 is. See every option by train
How do I get from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center by bus?
One bus reaches Birmingham New Street: the Bus X1 to the city centre, £3 for one traveler, 35–50 min, to Albert Street. For one traveler that is the cheapest way into Birmingham by any means. The fastest way overall is the Air-Rail Link, 11–23 min. See every option by bus
How do I get from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center by taxi?
One taxi reaches Birmingham New Street: the Airport Transfer Portal transfer to Birmingham, €76 for one traveler, 25–45 min, to any address in Birmingham. It is not the cheapest way in: the Bus X1 to the city centre at £3 is. The fastest way overall is the Air-Rail Link, 11–23 min. See every option by taxi
How long does it take to get from Birmingham airport to Birmingham city center?
Bus X1 to the city centre: 35–50 min. Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street: 11–23 min. Airport Transfer Portal transfer to Birmingham: 25–45 min
How far is Birmingham airport from the city center?
Birmingham Airport does not publish a distance to the city. By time: the fastest way in, the Air-Rail Link, takes 11–23 min; the cheapest, the Bus X1 to the city centre, 35–50 min.
Where is the train station at Birmingham airport?
The Air-Rail Link leaves from the first floor of the terminal and lands on the first floor of Birmingham International station two minutes later, free, 03:30 to 00:30 every day. Ticket machines are in the booking hall; the ticket office opens 05:40 to 21:00 on weekdays, from 06:15 on Saturdays and 08:15 on Sundays.
Is there Uber or Bolt at Birmingham airport?
Uber and Bolt both operate at Birmingham Airport. Bolt says its pickup points are shown in the app and may be signed at the airport; request the ride, then follow the app to the exact spot and check the car and driver match before getting in.
Where do I catch the Bus X1 to the city centre at Birmingham airport?
Bus stop K on the forecourt, directly outside the terminal. Follow the signs from arrivals. It leaves you at Albert Street, in the city centre by Moor Street station, after Birmingham Coach Station in Digbeth.
Is there a train from Birmingham airport to Birmingham at night?
The Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street runs 05:42–00:21. Outside those hours the bus X1 to the city centre is what remains; it is £3 for one traveler. Monday to Friday. Saturdays from 05:34; Sundays nothing before 08:52. Trains at 00:54 and 01:21 exist on weeknights, but the link that reaches the station stops at 00:30.
Worth knowing
The station is Birmingham International, not the airport. The free Air-Rail Link leaves from the first floor of the terminal and reaches it in two minutes, 03:30 to 00:30 every day; any train to Birmingham New Street then takes about ten minutes.
One ten-minute hop, five prices: £5 on any train, £3.50 after 18:30, £4.80 or £4.70 on a ticket marked for one company only, and Advance singles from £3.40 tied to a single Transport for Wales train.
Buy the £5 Anytime Day Single unless you know which company's train you will board. Four companies share the platforms, and a ticket marked "Avanti West Coast only" or "Transport for Wales only" is not valid on the others' trains.
No train before 05:42 on weekdays, 05:34 on Saturdays or 08:52 on Sundays, and the link stops at 00:30. In those hours the X1 bus runs from stop K outside the terminal: £3, about 45 minutes to Albert Street, roughly hourly through the night.
The bus is cheaper than the train for any number of people — £3 each, or £9.70 for up to five on a group day ticket — and the train is 30 minutes faster. Tap a bank card as you board the bus; on the train, buy a ticket before the barrier.
Taxis from the rank are Birmingham black cabs on the city's meter: £3.20 for the first 187 yards, then about £2.04 a mile, more on Friday and Saturday nights, plus 20p per extra passenger and per case in the boot. Nobody publishes a fixed price to the centre, so none appears here.
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