Open Day travel and parking

The easiest way to reach the University is by train. Birmingham is the only University campus in mainland UK to have its own railway station - ‘University’ station. The journey takes approximately 7 minutes from Birmingham New Street and up to six trains an hour depart for the University on the Cross-City Line (final destination Longbridge or Redditch). For up-to-date information on train times and prices, please contact National Rail.

Our free student travel ticket offer is valid on routes served by West Midland Railway or London Northwestern Railway. This offer is only valid on a University of Birmingham Open Day, for a same-day return journey. This offer is for one free train ticket per booking, guests (including parents and guardians) of Open Day attendees are not eligible for a free ticket.

This offer is only vaild for the student travelling with an Open Day ticket for 19 October 2019 and you must show this to railway staff, either a paper or digital ticket with unique QR code. An Open Day ticket will be sent to all visitors who pre-register to attend before Thursday 17 October 2019.

"University" is the closest station to the Universtiy of Birmingham. Please visit West Midland Railway or London Northwestern Railway to plan your journey. Please be aware that other train providers may use the same routes. 

The London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway offer covers all trains run by these operators. Other trains do run on these lines (e.g. Cross country, Transport for Wales, Virgin and Chiltern etc) but the day pass will not be valid on these services. Network maps are available for West Midland Railway or London Northwestern Railway. 

You can still use the day pass for any part of your journey that is operated by West Midlands Railway or London Northwestern Railway - you’ll just need to order and pay for the other part of your journey separately.

All students will be able to use the pass to visit Birmingham city centre and the surrounding area on their day, so you can travel into Birmingham New Street to explore what the city has to offer. 

We know that travelling to Open Days can be expensive especially when there is a group of you. So you can choose to prebook your tickets with any operator you wish, use Group Save or Railcards to help reduce your travel costs. If you decide to use the LNR/WMR free pass and you live outside of the network, you can always buy a ticket to travel to the edge of the network and then change trains. For example, if you’re travelling from Manchester, you can change at Crewe or Stoke. If you’re travelling from the South East you can purchase a ticket to Euston and then travel on a LNR train free of charge. If you’re travelling to us from Wales, get yourself across to Shrewsbury or Hereford and then you can pick up a WMR train from there.

LNR and WMR will be available on the day close to University station to support with help and advice for visitors travelling to the day. 

There are frequent express coach services to Birmingham from London, Heathrow and Gatwick airports and many other UK cities. The long-distance coach station is in Digbeth in the city centre.

The bus service numbers 1, 1A, 48, 61, 63, 76,  X20, X21, X22 travel to the University's main Edgbaston campus, The Vale student residences and the Selly Oak campus. Please visit the National Express website.

If you're considering staying in Birmingham and exploring our beautiful city, why not stay on the University campus itself in the University’s very own new hotel – the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre.

The Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre is offering a discounted rate for Bed and Breakfast for open day visitors. 

To book the rooms, please contact reservations@edgbastonparkhotel.com or call 0121 414 8888 and quote IND18

Alternatively we have put together a list of nearby recommended hotels. or please see the Visit Birmingham website.

Parking at Open Days is currently very limited due to several major building projects that are taking place as part of our campus redevelopment with the majority of visitors unable to park on campus. We therefore recommend that visitors use the park and ride service or public transport to reach the University. Alternative parking can also be found in and around the city. There are a number of NCP car parks across the city centre along with large shopping centre car parks and there is a direct train from Birmingham New Street to the University train station. The journey takes approximately 7 minutes from Birmingham New Street and up to six trains an hour depart for the University on the Cross-City Line (final destination Longbridge or Redditch).

The University has three main car parks:

• North East Car Park (access via Pritchatts Road) Sat Nav Postcode B15 2SA
• Pritchatts Road Car Park (at junction with Vincent Drive) Sat Nav Postcode B15 2QU
• West Car Park (near to Medical School) 

Parking is free of charge during open days however, please note these are used by staff and students and fill up very quickly, therefore the majority of visitors will be unable to find a space. Anyone with a blue badge can park in the disabled parking bays on the main campus via the East gate entrance. 

Park and Ride

Please note that our Park and Ride facility will now not be open on Saturday due to inclement weather conditions. Our campus car parks will be open, and our staff will be on hand throughout the day to point you to the best place to park.