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Birmingham to Cardiff by train

Prices explained

Prices explained

At Rail Europe we believe in price transparency. We use real data from Rail Europe searches to estimate the cheapest fares you should be able to find for your journey.

The cheapest price is the lowest fare we've ever found for this journey. These prices can usually be found by searching when booking opens but they vary due to availability, which depends on factors like the day of the week or time of year.

More popular journeys include 30 day advance and 7 day advance prices. These are updated every two weeks using prices we've found by searching exactly 7 or 30 days from the most recent Thursday (we picked Thursday because this is when average prices are usually found).

30 day and 7 day prices fluctuate based on demand and availability at the time of search. For example, the 7-day price in summer is likely to be more expensive than the same journey in winter.

Prices are sourced in GBP and converted to other currencies using the daily market exchange rate.

We're always seeking to improve how price-checking works, and we welcome feedback on how we can make it better.

More advice about how to find the cheapest tickets can be found in our infographic.

  1. Cheapest Price $16.91
  2. 30 day advance $29.45
  3. 7 day advance $42.00
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  • First train
    05:00
  • Last train
    20:30
  • Avg changes
    0
  • Fastest journey
    1hr 50m
  • Distance
    143 kilometres
  • Trains per day
    16
  • Avg. journey time
    2hr 1m
  • Train operators

Travelling from Birmingham to Cardiff by train

Fast trains from Birmingham to Cardiff take around 1 hour and 50 minutes, covering a distance of approximately 143 kilometres. There are frequent services on the rail route between Birmingham and Cardiff.

1. Are there direct trains from Birmingham to Cardiff?

Direct trains from Birmingham to Cardiff have been found.

We usually find around 17 direct trains on the route from Birmingham to Cardiff every weekday.

There are typically fewer departures at weekends, when we found around 15 departures.

2. How long is the train journey from Birmingham to Cardiff?

The Birmingham to Cardiff train travel time is normally about 1 hour and 50 minutes, whatever time you make the journey.

3. What are the Birmingham to Cardiff train times and schedule?

On weekdays the earliest direct train to Cardiff is usually scheduled to depart Birmingham around 05:00 and the last train is around 20:30. This is the same at the weekend.

What's the Birmingham to Cardiff train price?

The earlier you book the better, and the cheapest tickets we've found for trains from Birmingham to Cardiff are $16.91.

Trains departing 30 days in advance will cost around $29 while booking 7 days in advance the price is around $42. Booking on the day of travel is likely to be more expensive, so it is worth booking in advance if you can to save money.

When to book Birmingham to Cardiff train tickets?

Trains in the UK usually open for booking around 3 months in advance. If booking is not yet open for your dates then you can set a booking alert to receive an email on the day that the cheapest tickets are released for your journey from Birmingham to Cardiff by train.

Help with booking alerts

Which train companies operate between Birmingham and Cardiff?

CrossCountry is the train company that operates on the route from Birmingham to Cardiff.

You can check which train you’ll be travelling on by looking for the train name in search results.

Cardiff to Birmingham by train

Other journeys to Cardiff View all journeys to Cardiff

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Child and youth passengers

The definition of "Child" and "Youth" varies by country and operator. This is why we ask for the age of young passengers.

Sometimes children below a certain age can travel without a seat for free. If you want to guarantee a seat for child passengers, enter '6' as the age of the child.

Read more about child and youth passenger ages. See also youth discounts and railcards.