Birmingham International Railway Station is a pretty cool station, considering it isn't…read moreBirmingham's main station, infact it is around a 10-15 minute journey into the city centre (New Street), with this station serving the NEC and Airport, it is in the Solihull borough of the city and should not be confused with New Street (Some of the photos on Yelp appear to be from Birmingham New Street). The station is managed by Avanti West Coast, with five platforms, as far as I'm aware all services call via Birmingham New Street however services also go to major cities such as Manchester, Bournemouth, London, Glasgow and Reading with services provided by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains. The station seemed pretty clean, it is easy to get around the station and access the AirTrain which takes you directly to the Airport, and the walkway which takes you to the NEC and Resorts World. You can continue your journey via the many bus routes which stop right outside, or the Airtrain. There is also a small WHSmith and Subway before the ticket gates which is handy. The staff at the station are friendly and happy to call out, and I look forward to using this station again, it might not be as glamorous as St Pancras / Birmingham New Street but certainly does the job. 4*

A dated train station that could do with an upgrade. Good service to the city centre.read more

There are a few stations like Small Heath dotted around Birmingham. Sad to say that they're all as…read moreunloved and fallen into disrepair as each other. Small Heath exists in the same vain as stations such as Duddeston, Kings Norton and Northfield; once quite big stations which now only serve the few local trains that pass through (Kings Norton and Northfield have more regular trains, but Small Heath and Duddeston have a fair share speeding straight through). Of the four platforms Small Heath once had, only two are now in use. These serve trains heading towards Birmingham Moor Street and Snow Hill (roughly 5-10 minutes away) in one direction and Stratford-Upon-Avon or Solihull in the other. As is the case with old stations such as these, the long platforms are completely open aside from a small shelter. I had to commute to Small Heath for a job a few years back. It was little more than a patch of concrete to get a train from then and it's still the same now, only with more weeds.

Once again, an English city that has multiple railway termini because, well, privatised railways…read more Then again, when it was built the only people investing in railways were private companies. However, this station is pretty massive. In fact it is so big that it is really quite easy to get lost in it. In fact, there are like four areas where you go to catch a train, and two of them don't meet (which means you have to exit, and then enter again). Anyway, this station isn't bad, and it even has a pub in it, which is cool.

Birmingham Moor Street might be one of the smaller stations in the city centre, and it might not be…read moreas big, bold and modern, while also lacking the number of railway services compared to New Street, but Birmingham Moor Street just has something I like. Its minimalistic style is beautiful and rather nice, it feels like a traditional old British railway station done well, even down to the platform numbers. It is right opposite the Bullring, I would recommend heading to a store inside there, or perhaps Subway to get some food for the train, as other than a few small stores, there isn't much on offer here especially if you are making a long journey. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways and is the terminus of their route into London Marleybone. Services are also offered by West Midlands Railway. Many of the services from this station are mainly local services, into the likes of Birmingham Snow Hill and Solihull, sadly there are no connections into Birmingham International (For the Airport and NEC). I found the staff at the station to be a little rude and unhelpful, which was a sad first interaction with Chiltern Railways. 3* - Traditional old station with a good feel to it, obviously the lack of services and unfriendly staff do let it down and I will always prefer travelling via New Street, but this isn't a bad alternative.

Had a great experience catching a train from here to London. Quick drop off by my Uber at the drop…read moreoff and. A quick walk inside the station and they thought of the ones with suitcases and had a non step entrance! Yay! That's what they call it ! We grabbed a quick coffee and found our platform easily and thankfully they have escalators. The train had just pulled in and we were able to get on and get settled and took off right on time . Found a spot for our suitcases as soon as we get on close to our seats which we had reserved and were easy to find. Smooth ride and very efficient. Would go from here again if I need to. Nice central Birmingham location too.

This is a pretty massive station, though to be honest it can be pretty annoying to make your way…read morearound. Like, there are four zones, no doubt matching the platforms where the trains arrive. The thing is that you have to touch off and touch on to move between the zones. However, they happen to have quite a lot of shops here, and pubs, yeah, they have pubs as well, and a place to dump your bags as well, which is pretty cool.

Marston Green Railway station is located on the West Coast Mainline, and is run by London Midland,…read morewhich also operates services to Birmingham New Street, Coventry, Northampton, and London Euston stations. There are 2 to 3 services to Birmingham New Street every hour and around 2 to 3 services to Birmingham International every hour, with less frequent services further down the West Coast Mainline. Marston Green station is located on the end of Birmingham International airports runway, which offers great views of arriving and departing aircraft, and there are several bus connections to places surrounding the Marston green area. As the station is located on the west coast mainline, many services pass through at high speed.

This is one of those stations where you are like.......is that it......there is literally a ticket…read moremachine a waiting room and a not so happy to be there guy serving tickets if the ticket office is open. The other thing letting this place down is the shops around it there's hardly anything there either. This is a busy(ish) station at peak times and I dont see why there can't be a little coffee place or at least a vending machine on the platform....wold probably make a killing on cereal bars or breakfast snacks with commuters...if you are reading this national rail.....pull your vending machine finger out :) The trains are mainly on time and can take you towards town and the Jewellery quarter or towards the lakes and stratfrod. If you havent been to The lakes by the way its pretty beautiful for dog walking or a generally relaxing walk. Ill try and get a review in on that soon!

It seems a little odd to review a train station, but when I worked in Stratford I used to come here…read morealmost every day, so I have many fond memories of Yardley Wood station. Actually, they're not all that fond. Quite a lot of them consist of standing in the cold waiting for trains to arrive - which were frequently late. This is, of course, not the fault of the actual train station itself, so I won't hold that against them. What I might hold against them however is the fact that it appears to be a total wind tunnel and there's only 1 or 2 benches to sit on on the platforms. It does have a car park, which is really great, as a lot of people use this station, particularly those in the Kings Heath/ Moseley area of Birmingham as well as Yardley Wood, as there's a particular lack of train stations in that neck of the woods, so the likelihood is that you would have to drive to get to your nearest station. There's also a convenient row of shops opposite, and the ticket office always seemed pretty efficient - any queues would whittle down pretty fast.

A cute little train station where it only takes 17mins (to be precise!) to cruise into the centre…read moreof town. The station has recently had a fresh lick of paint, which has really spruced up the place. The ticket office tends to be shut after 6pm, so you will need to go down the ramp and across the bridge to get to the other platform for trains heading towards Brum.

Why do I always think this is closer to Broad street than it is. I end up rushing for a train…read morepretty much everytime. Id say to be safe leave 30 mins from the middle of Broad street.......don't let this station catch you out too! The train station itself is actually one of the most basic in town....it has stairs....and platforms but what else do you really need. Take your own snickers and diet coke as you are not getting here. The trains come....they go.....how can it not be A-OK....3*

Depending on where you're going in the City Centre, this Station could well be a better bet than…read morethe main New Street Station if, as I do, you travel along the Lichfield line from North to South. The journey from New Street to 5 Ways on the train can be a bit misleading - after spending several minutes in the tunnels under the city and then trundling along the tracks, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd left the bustle of town, but in actual fact this station is probably an equal walking distance to many of the city's attractions as New Street. If you are visiting Brindley Place, the Ikon Gallery or, Lord help you, Broad Street, then you are probably better off alighting here. Once exiting, look to your left and you'll see 5 Way traffic island a few hundred yards away. Much better than dealing with the insanely busy New Street and environs. The station is pretty tiny - particularly when viewed from the road as only the entrance is visible - and it can get very busy around rush hour as there are several large office buildings nearby, so plan your arrival around that if you don't want to deal with crowds.

Langley Green is a handy little station for getting into town (if Birmingham's what you call town)…read morequickly from Oldbury. Trains run every half hour during the week and on Saturday towards Snow Hill and Moor Street and take about 15 minutes. The three staff that work there are all pleasant and seem to have good relationships with regular commuters. I personally use this service at least twice a week and an off-peak return to town costs £2.20 (£3.30 peak). The small waiting room is clean and, crucially, is warm in winter time. The only problem is that it's locked when the station is unmanned. Other problems with the station are that trains rarely call there on Sundays and it's impossible to get to from Brum after about 6pm (during the week the last train leaves Snow Hill at 20 past 11). The 120 bus service runs past the station but the stops in both directions are nowhere near the station entrance which makes for poor integration. Finally, if you're approaching the station from the Tat Bank Road end, there is no way to enter the station without walking a fair way past the station building and having to walk back up the car park. Perhaps just a little more thought would make this fairly remote little station a bit more accessible?

This is one of the minor stations on the route between Stourbridge and Snow Hill. Not all services…read morestop here, so it is always worth double-checking timetables befo remaking your journey. The station is handy for those who live or work in Oldbury, though it is still a fair jaunt away from the town centre. There are two platforms, with the waiting room and ticket office located on the Birmingham-bound side. It is a well-maintained, clean and tidy station with parking for 28 vehicles.