Friday:

11:00 AM – 11:25 AM – Live Entertainment

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Introduction to Classic Cars

Featuring: Danny Hopkins, Jon Bentley, John Lakey and Amy Egan

Compere: Phil Oldershaw

What is this hobby of preserving old cars and who are the people who do it?

12:00 PM – 12:05 PM – Opening Speech

12:05 PM – 12:25 PM – Live Entertainment

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM – Building cars in Birmingham

Featuring: Malcolm Harbour, Denis Chick, Kevin Jones and Dr Ian Pogson

Compered: Danny Hopkins

Not long ago thousands of Brummies made their living building cars and other vehicles in Brum and the surrounding area.  What was that like?

1:00 PM – 1:25 PM – Live Entertainment

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM – On the Buses: Where Next?

Featuring: Sandeep Shingadia (TfWM), Natalie Penrose TfWM)

Compered: Phil Oldershaw

The bus has gone through a bit of a roller-coaster over the last 40 years or so, a genuinely bumpy ride.  What does the future hold for this most public form of transport?

2:00 PM – 2:25 PM – Live Entertainment

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM – From Bikes to Cars and Back Again

Featuring: Allama Munir (The Bike Foundry), Doug Pinkerton (Veteran Cycle Club)

Compere: Danny Hopkins

Many of our car manufacturers started out as bicycle manufacturers, even ‘Rover’ started out as the name of a bicycle. This segment traces the rise, fall and rise again of cycling and bicycle making in the 21st Century.

3:00 PM – 3:25 PM – Live Entertainment

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM – Local Design Classics

Featuring: Peter Stevens, Howard Guy, Denis Chick

Compere: Danny Hopkins

The cars you see at the Festival were the result of a long process of design and development before any manufacturing could begin.  We hear from some of the designers behind iconic West Midlands cars such as the MG Z series celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and the Jaguar X300 series saloons.

4:00 PM – 4:25 PM – Live Entertainment

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM- Trams, No Trams and Now Trams Again

Featuring: Sandeep Shingadia (TfWM), Das Mootanah (TfWM)

Compere: Phil Oldershaw

After decades of improved rolling stock and an ever-expanding network that modern public transport operators would give anything to have now, the last original Brummie tram ran in Birmingham in 1953.  Why did they stop?  Why did they come back and what are the future ambitions for 21st Century trams?

Saturday:

11:00 AM – 11:25 AM – Live Entertainment

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Introduction to Classic Cars

Featuring: Danny Hopkins, Fuzz Townshend, John Lakey and Mike Mounfield

Compere: Phil Oldershaw

What is this hobby of preserving old cars and who are the people who do it?  We talk to a man who edits a magazine about it, a man who appears on the telly about it and a man who takes photos of it.  And another bloke.

12:00 PM – 12:25 PM – Live Entertainment

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM – Classic Buses

Featuring: Denis Chick, Fuzz Townshend, Nick Larkin

Compere: Ed James

Anyone can preserve a classic car on their drive or even on the street, but who preserves classic buses?  We hear from Denis Chick and Fuzz Townshend (from TV’s Car SOS), both Trustees of Wythall Transport Museum, as well as life-long bus fanatic and writer, Nick Larkin.

1:00 PM – 1:25 PM – Live Entertainment

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM – 40 Years Since the First Super Prix

Featuring: Martin Hone, Stacey Barnfield, Ralph Hosier

Compere: Ed James

In 1986 Birmingham hosted the first on-street professional motor race in mainland UK history.  This is the story of how that came about, what it was like, why it stopped in 1990 and the most intriguing question of all: could we do it again?

2:00 PM – 2:25 PM – Live Entertainment

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM – Champion Tinkerers: The People Who Keep Classics Going

Featuring: John Lakey, Ralph Hosier, Chris Allen

Compere: Danny Hopkins

In sheds and garages, on drives and in the streets across the West Midlands, people are rescuing, repairing, restoring and cherishing classic cars, often with little or no monetary reward to show for their endeavours.  Who are these people and why do they do it?

3:00 PM – 3:25 PM – Live Entertainment

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM – Pride of Longbridge

Featuring: Representatives of PoL, John Lakey

Compere: Phil Oldershaw

The closure of Longbridge MG Rover plant on 2005 was a shattering blow to Birmingham but especially the community of Longbridge that was so dependent on the plant for jobs and supply chain work.  From the ashes of that disaster emerged Pride of Longbridge.  We hear the story of how a community showed pride, determination and dignity in the face of catastrophe.

4:00 PM – 4:25 PM – Live Entertainment

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM – Birmingham Transport Festival Awards & Close

Featuring: The winners!

Compere: Phil Oldershaw and Danny Hopkins

The Birmingham Transport Festival takes place across four city centre locations: Victoria Square, Chamberlain Square, Centenary Square and Hippodrome Square, all within walking distance of each other.

We’ve teamed up with West Midlands Metro to help visitors travel to the festival. With stops close to the festival locations, the Metro is a great way to travel into Birmingham city centre and explore everything the festival has to offer.

Whether you’re travelling from across the West Midlands or connecting from elsewhere in the city, you can plan your journey in advance using the West Midlands Metro Journey Planner.

Arriving by Tram – West Midlands Metro

West Midlands Metro offers a quick and convenient way to travel into Birmingham city centre, with tram stops just a short walk from the festival locations.

It’s an easy option for visitors travelling from across the West Midlands, with frequent services connecting Birmingham city centre to destinations throughout the region.

You can plan your journey using the West Midlands Metro Journey Planner.

Arriving by Train

Birmingham is well served by rail, with several stations within easy reach of the festival:

• Birmingham New Street – around a 5–10 minute walk to all festival locations.

• Birmingham Snow Hill – around a 5-minute walk to Victoria Square, Chamberlain Square and Centenary Square, and around 10 minutes to Hippodrome Square.

• Birmingham Moor Street – around a 10-minute walk to all festival locations.

From any of these stations, the festival venues are easy to reach on foot, plan your journey here.

Arriving by Bus

Birmingham city centre is served by an extensive bus network, with services arriving throughout the day from across the West Midlands and beyond. Many routes stop just a short walk from the festival locations, making the bus a convenient option for visitors.

If you’re travelling by bus, you can plan your journey here.