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

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.

Never flown out of Birmingham airport before (and hopefully never again!!). A complete disorganised…read morechaotic checkin and security system. Makes the whole experience a nightmare.

Mmmmmm ..... not bad. I've been in worse airports than BHX. but improvements can be made…read more A bit confusing to get around and find things. You have to be "on your toes" to make your way around BHX. Some better signage would be great. Now that I've been through this airport, I feel I can get around better. At this time, there is some construction. So it may take a little longer to get around. Overall this is a reasonably decent airport.

Water Orton is a really beautiful station that I have spotted in my way to Coleshill area and I was…read morereally impressed with this lovely gem placed in the North Warwickshire, still a Birmingham post code. Opened in 1842, Water Orton started to be operated by London Midlands just in 1909, with traces of its original station building. There is a free car parking next to the station where you can have another privileged view of its platforms and even it's just a simple and not busy stop, it's still possible to contemplate the traces of a historical site there. The service can be a bit confusing if you are not used to this. As there is no trains announcement or display boards, it's better to get your own train timetables to don't miss your service! The trains to Birmingham and Leicester are on platform 1 and on Platform 2 there is just service for Derby. There is no train operation on Sundays. One curiosity about its facilities: during the famous tornado that hit Birmingham in 1996, the wooden staircase of this station was damaged and it had to be replaced, changing it originals for a zig zag styled one. Despite its simplicity in the service, Water Orton station is part of one of those landmarks in Birmingham and it also takes you to an area of the city with fine restaurants, lovely pubs and independent shops ready to be explored.

This wonderful railway station feels like home to me. It links this suburb with Solihull, Warwick,…read moreLeamington and London Marlybone in one direction and Moor Street, Snow Hill, Jewellery Quarter and the Black Country in the other. For now the station and ticket office are usually staffed by very polite and helpful employees. There are trains in both directions every 20 minutes during the day but less so in the evenings. The Sunday service is extremely limited. I often joke to people who ask where I live that the best things about Acocks Green is the train line out of there. Obviously, there are many other wonderful reasons to live in this area (hey I'm there for a start!) but I do love that I can be in the city centre in 6-10 minutes. Often I call people that I am meeting in town to say I'm just leaving the house and they worry that I'll be late but I never am.

I have got off the train at this station a few times as a friend of mine lives in Acocks Green. I…read morewas actually quite surprised by how nice the station is. It is very nice and hard to imagine it is in the city as there are a few trees surrounding it and you can imagine that this is somewhere completely different - that is until you leave the station! Every time I have walked through here it has also been very clean and tidy, which is refreshing for a train station. The train from the centre of Birmingham to here does not take too long at all and in my experience it usually takes around ten minutes tops. There have never been many staff around when I have passed through, but I have always been here during off-peak times. Overall, it is a nice little station.

Berkswell TTrain station is located on the west coast mainline between Birmingham internation and…read moreCoventry. The station serves the small towns around th station, with berkswell being the closest to the station. London midland run the station, and serve the station with 2 to 3 services an hour to Coventry, and Birmingham Stations. They are served with electric trains, and stop at most ofhe local stations between birmingham new street and coventry. All other services on the west coast mainline from cross country trains and virgin pendilino do not stop here, and pass through at high speed. Berkswell station as with some other local stations have seen there platform increased in size to cope with parger trains if nessesary, as there are plans for london midland to enhance rail services. london midland offer connections to other stations in the west midlands at birmingham new street, and coventry to the london area.

A basic train station serving the town centre of Solihull, while the facilities are limited, as…read moreexpected for a small station, Solihull Railway Station still serves its' purpose of providing useful railway services to the town with connections into Birmingham and London. Services are provided by West Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways. All services call via Birmingham city centre (Moor Street or Snow Hill), yet sadly none go into New Street or Birmingham International (For the NEC and Airport). The station is fully staffed, with taxis and some bus services stopping right outside to continue your journey, you may need to get a bus to Touchwood and then change over to another service though. 3* - OK, pretty average island platform station, yet useful for providing quick connections between Birmingham and Solihull, saving a lot of time compared to the bus.

The train station is managed by London Midland and Chiltern Railways. Cross Country serve the…read morestation occasionally when replacing stops at Coventry and Birmingham International during engineering work. The station has trains that run to most areas of the country and wherever the trains don't go it's fairly simple to make a change. The staff at Solihull station are polite, very helpful and knowledgeable about the journeys. I've seen some nervous travellers and nine times out of ten the staff have always put their mind at ease about the journey. When the weather is cold nobody wants to be outside (unless you like the cold) and the waiting rooms here usually don't have the heating on. On the other hand they provide a warmer atmosphere than outside. If the money is available, the waiting rooms would really benefit from heaters that people can put on themselves and comfier seats. I've seen this in a few other train stations. If you're visiting Solihull or want to know about the events then this is a good place to come and pick up some leaflets or even talk to the staff to see what's going on.

What Etap offers for the price they charge, I think this hotel is great…read more On a late flight in to BHX, it would have been unfair to expect to be collected this late. One option was to hire a car. But a cheaper, alternative option would be to stay at an airport hotel and get collected the next day. We went for the latter option. 39 GBP to rest your head after a late flight and to have a shower in the morning, it was a bargain in my mind. And from their own sign outside, you could have stayed for 36 GBP as a walk in price by the looks of it (subject to change, I'm sure). OK the room was small and the bed was not luxurious, the shower and toilet look like they would be more suited on a boat. But it was comfortable and all very clean. The shower impressed too the next morning. The WiFi was free, for 24 hours if I remember correctly. The young guy manning reception when we arrived was friendly and nice. Recommended as somewhere clean to crash. If you've spare cash, then I'm sure the Ibis next door would be more up your street.

A cheap budget hotel but at £35/ night (correct 9/10/08) it takes some beating…read more Sleeps up to 3 people with a double bed and a single bunk bed above it. There is a pod shower and a seperate pod toilet. The washhand basin is in the room. The room is clean and tidy with a large window. There is a flat screen TV with a good range of stations and also radio. There is free Wifi area in the public entrance area. Unlimited breakfast costs £2.99 and on offer was a choice of corn flakes or bran flakes, brown or white bread for toasting, marmalade, strawberry or blackcurrent jam with butter or marg. To drink there is orange or apple juice. Hot drinks are tea, coffee or hot water with some fruit teas. Hot chocolate or special coffee cost £1.20. It is basic and there is no hair drier or kettle but I found the room more than adequate and at a bargain price.

I don't really like small train stations much, and Stechford's is one of those really solitary…read moreplaces. From my experiences, waiting for a train here sometimes feels eerily quiet, daytime or night (night time, of course being much worse). The station itself is very old, rickety and prone to spooky noises (or so I've felt anyway!) and I really don't suggest waiting here alone; It's a relief to find the worker behind the ticket desk! Especially when there's nobody else around! Other than this, Stechford is a great little connection service between Birmingham International and New Street. If I lived closer, I'd probably use it more often, because trains are much faster/regular compared to the buses in the area. Stechford literally takes you to New Street in five minutes, and you can get to International in three! So it's definitely worth using if you were in the area. As previously mentioned, just keep your eyes peeled for strange sounds/shadows at the station and its surroundings.