Air-Rail Link, then any train to New StreetorBus X1 to the city centre?

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

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.

Air-Rail Link, then any train to New Street: price for every party size

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

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.

Bus X1 to the city centre: price for every party size