If you needed to get to the Munich airport as quickly as possible at 3 or 4 pm on a weekday from a location near the Meridien Hotel (actually 1/2 mile West at Bayerstrasse and Martin-Greif-Strasse), how would you do it - cab or train? And, if you know, are cabs easy to hail on the street at that location? Or should I just walk to train station?
Thanks

The Meridien is just across the street from the train station. I would think that due to traffic, the train would be your best bet.

scatcat is right. The train will be a more reliable option than a cab which may get stuck in traffic.

From that intersection you mentioned, it's a 5 minute walk north to Hackerbrücke S-Bahn station.
S1 and S8 trains go to airport from there, which means there will be a train every 10 minutes appr..
S1 goes westbound, S8 eastbound - so don't be irritated that you have to take a train to the same destination from opposite tracks.

Total travel time incl. walk to station, wait for next train, and the ride itself should be 60-65min.

Thanks very much. Should I have any preference for S1 or S8 - or just take the first one that comes along?

My understanding has been that the S8 is quicker from Hauptbahnhof, but at that point on the route, it's probably pretty close either way.

i took the S8 train to the airport a few years ago. it took about 40 minutes. I was staying at le meridien at the time. great way to get to the airport.

ps: this was early in the morning, about 6:00 i belive.

Take the first train that comes at Hackerbrücke. Travel time is almost identical for S1 or S8: 39 vs 41 minutes, respectively.

Be careful if you take the S1. It splits at Neufahrn. I believe that the front of the train goes to Freising while the back part goes on to the airport.

That's correct, Larry.
When using S1 trains, you should get into the rear section of the train with displays showing "Flughafen / Airport" as destination. If you should be in the wrong section, you have more than enough time to change at Neufahrn, where the train is split up. Announcements will also be in English when the train pulls into Neufahrn station.