U.K. and Ireland - BHX/BHI to MAN by train

I will be arriving at BHX in October on a flight from AMS and then taking the train from BHI to MAN. My flight arrives at approximately 17:00 on a Friday.

I have never been to BHX before. Before I book the BHI-MAN ticket, how much time should I allow at Birmingham to clear immigration, collect my bag, and make the short hop to the train station?

How long is a piece of string and do you like to gamble?

You could book at seat on the 18:38 train and be pretty sure of making it. However, planes run late, immigration can be a pain and bags arrive late.

Pre booking will cost around £15 for the journey, a walk up about £35. Miss the train and you've lost the £15 - no chance to upgrade. If you're making a return journey in a month, a return walk-up is around £37 providing you travel "off-peak", making the difference between walk-up and pre-booking small.

However, EasyJet fly direct from AMS to MAN for €40 most Fridays in October. Hold baggage extra. I'd take plane.

Yep. I have been repeatedly jinxed by the BHX gods when landing to take my once an hour service home. Several times i've missed it by a few minutes, the last time I caught it but only by jamming my bag in the door of the 'monorail'.

As noted above, just buy the walk-up fare (or fly to Manchester in the first place).

Walk up also means you can get a train every 30 mins, as opposed to waiting an hour....

I will be arriving at BHX in October on a flight from AMS and then taking the train from BHI to MAN. My flight arrives at approximately 17:00 on a Friday.

I have never been to BHX before. Before I book the BHI-MAN ticket, how much time should I allow at Birmingham to clear immigration, collect my bag, and make the short hop to the train station?

I would imagine that you will be out of BHX and at the train station by 18:00 at the absolute latest from a 17:00 arrival. I usually am out of BHX with baggage within about 30-40 mins of landing. However, things can happen and I would advise using a walkup ticket.

Yep. I have been repeatedly jinxed by the BHX gods when landing to take my once an hour service home. Several times i've missed it by a few minutes, the last time I caught it but only by jamming my bag in the door of the 'monorail'.

As noted above, just buy the walk-up fare (or fly to Manchester in the first place).

Walk up also means you can get a train every 30 mins, as opposed to waiting an hour....

But it is worth buying the walk up ticket in advance (it's called Off Peak or Anytime depending on travel times) and reserving a seat because trains will be heaving at around 5-6pm and you can ensure a seat that way rather than having to stand.

Neil

You can travel using an off-peak single or return ticket on Birmingham Intl to Manchester Stns any time except before 0930 on weekdays. The ticket costs £36.80 return in standard class or £35.80 single or £92.00 return in first class or £92.50 single (not a typo).

You can travel using an off-peak single or return ticket on Birmingham Intl to Manchester Stns any time except before 0930 on weekdays. The ticket costs £36.80 return in standard class or £35.80 single or £92.00 return in first class or £92.50 single (not a typo).

Confirmed this via brfares.com.

However I still think it is worth buying this ticket in advance with a reservation, because trains will be very busy at this time of day on a Friday particularly. Reserve on the train you think you're most likely to catch, if you miss it it doesn't matter, just take the next one, no need to change your ticket.

Neil

Slightly OT, but the worst thing about getting a train from Birmingham to Manchester these days is that they are all diesel trains - and those awful Voyagers.

When was the southern section of the West Coast Main Line electrified? About 40-45 years ago? So 40 years ago all the trains between Birmingham and Manchester were electric traction - now they're all diesel.

The government might be gently reminded of that when it is extolling the virtues of railway electrification in all these grand projects in the pipeline.

You can travel using an off-peak single or return ticket on Birmingham Intl to Manchester Stns any time except before 0930 on weekdays. The ticket costs £36.80 return in standard class or £35.80 single or £92.00 return in first class or £92.50 single (not a typo).
Thanks to all for the great advice. This is likely what I'll do so I'll have the flexibility in case I miss my desired train to MAN. I will be traveling from MAN to EUS the next day so I will just route via BHI (and purchase a separate BHI-EUS ticket) so that I can utilize the second half of the BHI-MAN rt ticket.

As for the suggestion of flying directly into MAN, the AMS-BHX flight is a leg of a much larger ticket that is already purchased so that is not a possibility.

Thanks to all for the great advice. This is likely what I'll do so I'll have the flexibility in case I miss my desired train to MAN. I will be traveling from MAN to EUS the next day so I will just route via BHI (and purchase a separate BHI-EUS ticket) so that I can utilize the second half of the BHI-MAN rt ticket.



Note that to do this, your train must stop at the intermediate station and you really have to buy a flexible ticket for the second leg. It's also going to take a lot more time.

Your best solution is to just buy a cheap advance purchase ticket from Manchester to London (Assuming you can be certain on the travel time for this.) It'll cost you about £18 in 2nd class, £36 in 1st and take 2hrs.

If you go via Birmingham Airport it's 2hrs to get down there from Manchester, plus another 1hr 10 mins to London. If you run the risk of a misconnect in Birmingham an advance ticket for the leg to London is £11 but a flexible ticket is £49 (both in standard).

Sample prices were for Thursday 16 August at midday.

Welcome to the insanely complex world of UK rail ticket pricing.

Your best solution is to just buy a cheap advance purchase ticket from Manchester to London (Assuming you can be certain on the travel time for this.) It'll cost you about £18 in 2nd class, £36 in 1st and take 2hrs.


Agree completely. Buy a cheap ticket from Man direct to London. Do not think of going via Birmingham.

This far out you may even get First Class for a decent rate if you travel off peak. Lounge at Manchester, free food and booze on the way down.

Actually, I'll just get off the return train from MAN at BHM, then buy a cheap advance ticket BHM-EUS. I've made my own connection at BHM many times so I'm pretty comfortable with doing that. I just always make schedule allowances for delayed trains (not that delays ever happen on UK services ;))
Welcome to the insanely complex world of UK rail ticket pricing.
Yes, I found long ago that the pricing makes even less sense that airfares. I have often used SOT for a "connection". Breaking the journey at SOT and buying two tickets (both literally on the same train) often results in savings. As long as the pricing for UK rail is scr*wed up, I might as well make it work to my advantage. :cool:

Birmingham is not on the way from Manchester to London by rail.

Going via Birmingham will add well over an hour to the journey, and if you are able to get a cheap advance ticket then it won't save very much money.

Alternatively, you could buy a ticket from Stoke on Trent to London, then use your return to Birmingham from Manchester to Stoke.
However, that will probably only save a few pounds.

Birmingham is not on the way from Manchester to London by rail.
It can be if you are on a really tight budget.:cool:

Going via Birmingham will add well over an hour to the journey, and if you are able to get a cheap advance ticket then it won't save very much money.

Alternatively, you could buy a ticket from Stoke on Trent to London, then use your return to Birmingham from Manchester to Stoke.
However, that will probably only save a few pounds.
A few ££ here, a few ££ there...it adds up when it comes directly from my pocket. I am always open to every trick to shave the ££. On an upcoming trip in a couple of weeks, I found that "beginning" my journey to Manchester at LHR (via tube and then Virgin) rather than separate tube to Euston and Virgin to Manchester actually shaved £30 on my date of travel. As others have posted, there is seemingly no rationale to UK rail fares.

It can be if you are on a really tight budget.:cool:


OK, but what you'll have to do is get a train from Manchester to Birmingham airport, then get off and wait a sufficient length of time to ensure you don't miss your connection for the Birmingham airport -> London ticket.

On Advance tickets (so use 'em or lose 'em)
The cheapest Manchester-London ticket is £12
The cheapest Birmingham-London ticket is £7.50 but even looking 7 weeks out these are thin on the ground, unless you then take the all stations train which is another hour ontop.

If you are putting a very high value on cash and a very low value on time, you should book a 3-4hr buffer at Birmingham airport on arrival then get a very cheap one way train ticket advance purchase. The time you 'waste' here will be offset by the time you save going from Manchester straight to London, and the overall cost will be lower.

1)Cheapest Birmingham-Manchester-London = £12 + £12 (£24). Total travel time = 4hrs
2)Flexible Birmingham-Manchester-Birmingham plus cheap Birmingham-London = £35+£7.50 (£42.50). Total travel time = 5hrs 30 mins.

Option 1 requires you putting in a very decent contingency on arrival at Birmingham, so as not to miss the train to Manchester.
Option 2 requires you to put in a decent contingency at Birmingham on the way back through so as not to miss the second train to London.

I'd be going 3-4hrs on Option 1 (if your flight is running that late ex AMS, ask KLM to put you on the MAN flight anyway), whilst you need to put 1hr on the connection in Option 2 (as if your train is an hour late, compensation payments will kick in from the rail operator).

That takes total travel times to 8hrs vs 6hrs 30 mins, but you'll save £20 in the process.

Or just book well in advance and go megabus - £5 and it only takes 4hrs 30 mins.

Or just book well in advance and go megabus - £5 and it only takes 4hrs 30 mins.

Or if you don't like coaches, from Manchester buy a ticket Virgin Trains Only to Stoke on Trent and travel there on a Virgin train, then buy another, London Midland only, and take the slow train (about 3hrs, but more comfortable and spacious than a Pendolino) to London from there.

Not as cheap as the Megabus but not expensive.

The other thing you could do is buy a ticket (in advance, as the ticket office may argue about selling it at BHI) from London to Manchester return, taking advantage of the fact that walk up returns are generally £1 more than singles off-peak, and break of journey is permitted in both directions on that flow, and that travel between London and Manchester is permitted via Birmingham. However this would involve checking the peak restrictions *very carefully*, you can see them at brfares.com and they are not simple!

Neil

The other thing you could do is buy a ticket (in advance, as the ticket office may argue about selling it at BHI) from London to Manchester return, taking advantage of the fact that walk up returns are generally £1 more than singles off-peak, and break of journey is permitted in both directions on that flow, and that travel between London and Manchester is permitted via Birmingham. However this would involve checking the peak restrictions *very carefully*, you can see them at brfares.com and they are not simple!
Interesting suggestion, as many in this thread are. I am extremely well versed on arriving at LHR or MAN and the train options between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, but this is my first time arriving at BHX and it def throws different options into the mix.

BHI-SOT anytime fare is ₤13.80. SOT-MAN anytime fare is ₤13.80. I can stay on the same train, be fully flexible, and get to MAN for ₤27.60. This will protect me in case the flight is late (or early) or immigration is backed up. I can do MAN-EUS advanced the next day for ₤12.00. (I can totally control my schedule so no problem with an advanced fare). Total will be ₤39.60, flexible when I need it and fixed when I don't.

BTW, I am totally loving the collective knowledge of FT. The suggestions about having flexible ticket(s) from BHI were def appreciated. ^^

BTW, I am totally loving the collective knowledge of FT. The suggestions about having flexible ticket(s) from BHI were def appreciated. ^^

Yeah, it's brilliant. You've had probably 2 or 3 hours of free consultancy and the upshot is it saves you somewhere between £10 and £50 as a result.

If someone can figure out how to monetize that they'll be the true winner of the internet!