National Express West Midlands

Birmingham Service Changes

From Sunday 25 July we are introducing a number of exciting service changes for our customers in Birmingham.

Our review of bus services in West and South Birmingham will see the following improvements and changes:

• New links to Birmingham city centre for the QEH and Welsh House Farm in Quinton on service 636 and the introduction of evening and Sunday services.
• A new evening and Sunday service for Black Haynes Road and Swarthmore Road at Weoley Castle on service 29.
• An increased 10 minute frequency Mondays to Fridays on the 29 and 29A between Weoley Castle, Harborne and Birmingham City Centre.
• New quicker and direct limited stop services along the Bristol Road into the City Centre - services X62 and X64 will operate every 10 minutes from Selly Oak (every 15 minutes evenings and Sundays)
• The X62 will replace service 62 between Rednal and the City Centre (every 15-20 minutes and half hourly on Sundays offering a fast link from Rednal, Longbridge and Northfield to the city centre.
• X62 will also extend from Rednal to Rubery (Great Park) via Leach Green Lane giving the area a brand new fast link to the city centre.
• Bangham Pit and Weoley Castle residents currently served by the 21 will benefit from the new service X64 operating direct via the Bristol Road from Selly Oak into the city centre.
• Service 448 will extend from the QEH to replace service 21 between the Hospital and Bartley Green but also giving better access to Harborne High Street, and offering new direct links to West Bromwich.
• The X64 will also provide a new city centre link for residents from Holloway and Merritts Brook into the city centre.
• The Holly Hill Road area at Frankley will benefit from two services replacing service 20 - the X64 operating into the city centre and the 49 operating to Northfield - each every 20 minutes.
• Service 49 is extended from Rubery to Northfield and Weoley Castle restoring requested links from the Frankley to Longbridge, Cotteridge, Shirley and Solihull.
• The routes in Frankley of services 61 and 63 have been changed to improve timekeeping on the services and offer some areas a more frequent service - both services will terminate at Arden Road. 
• Service 63 will operate every 8-10 minutes during the day instead of the current 15 minute frequency and will serve New Inns Lane, Boleyn Road and Ormond Road.
• Service 61 will operate direct via Frankley Beeches Road to provide quicker journeys to and from Frankley – it will serve New Street, Boleyn Road and Ormond Road.
• Service 18 will continue to operate a high frequency service between the Hoggs Lane area and Northfield, with services 49 and X64 serving Allens Cross.

Along the Coventry Road we are changing the pattern of services to offer passengers from Solihull, Sheldon and Yardley a new fast service into the city centre.

• Service 957 will operate every 15 minutes during the day, more frequently at peak times and every 30 minutes evenings from Solihull to Sheldon and then on a faster limited stop route into Birmingham.
• Service 900 will also operate every 15 minutes from the Airport into Birmingham (every 30 minutes from Coventry).
• Between Sheldon and Birmingham the 900 and 957 will co-ordinate to provide a bus every 7 or 8 minutes into the city during the day.
• Between Asda at Hay Mills and the city centre the routes will operate on a flexible route to avoid the worst traffic congestion and take the quickest possible route into the city.
• Service 58 (to Sheldon, Arden Oak) and Service 60 (Cranes Park) will continue to provide a frequent all stops service from the city centre through Small Heath to Yardley and Sheldon.

Summer timetables are also introduced from 25 July - 28 August on many of our high frequency services to take account of the reduced requirements over the summer period. Full details of services affected will be posted here shortly.