West Midlands Railway reveals quietest dates to travel to Birmingham's Christmas Market

The quietest day to travel to Birmingham’s Christmas Market will be Wednesday 5 November, West Midlands Railway (WMR) has revealed.

Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market is known to attracts millions of people every year, with public transport often busy during the festive period due to additional visitors to the city.

To help visitors avoid the seasonal rush, WMR has analysed three years of booking data to investigate travel patterns to Birmingham’s major stations. Using the data, the train operator has estimated the most and least crowded travel days between now and Christmas Day.

The calmest dates to travel this year are expected to be:

• Wednesday 5 November
• Friday 7 November
• Thursday 18 December

Based on these dates, it’s clear that getting into the festive spirit early will make for quieter journeys into town, but Thursday 18 December offers hope for less busy services just a week before the big day.

Surprisingly, the busiest days might be sooner than you expect, with crowded dates predicted to be:

• Tuesday 25 November
• Sunday 30 November
• Tuesday 2 December

Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors into Birmingham to enjoy all the festive events the city has to offer this Christmas. We expect trains to be busier than usual during this period, so please plan your journeys in advance and remember to be kind to staff and fellow passengers.”

Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market opens on 1 November, while the Christmas in Cathedral Square event launches on 7 November.

To plan your journey in advance, visit www.wmr.uk.

*Data is based on journeys to Birmingham Moor Street, New Street and Snow Hill between November 1 and 25 December 2022, 2023, 2024. Anomalies, such as strike days in 2022, have been removed.