Frankfurt Airport to Train
 

I see on the Frankfurt Airport map that there is a train station (actually two) in the airport. I've been told that I don't need to go to the Frankfurt Main DBahn to head toward Heidelberg. But the websites I've looked at all give me schedules from Frankfurt Main.

Has anyone set out from the Trainstation? Do you know the name of that station (as opposed to Frankfurt Main)?

Go downstairs IN TERMINAL #1 to catch the train from Frankfurt am Main Flughafen (Airport) Terminal #1.
Looks like it takes an hour or so...

Hi Grasshopper :-)

The train station in the airport is the Flughafen. The long-distance terminal is at the AlRail Terminal (right next to Terminal 1). The station is linked to Terminal 2 via bus and the SkyLine. Regional Trains (going within Frankfurt) depart from Platforms 1-3, Long-Distance Trains depart from platforms 4 to 7.

The area from which the Long-Distance trains depart is called the Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf. The regional trains leave from the Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf

We leave Thursday morning, I can't wait! Happy Traveling to you!

Thanks! Jill, would you email me at [email protected]?

bkk

On two occassions, I have left from the FRA Fernbahnhof on an ICE to Karlsruhe. In both cases it stoped in Mannheim, without going through Frankfurt Hbf. Heidelberg is just an S-bahn trip from Mannheim.

I'll see what I can what I can find on the Bahn website.

After reading your OP, and the confused replies you got, I think the issue needs to be clarified.

There are two train stations in Frankfurt airport (FRA). Flughafen, BTW, is German for airport. The regional station (Regionalbahnhof) is under the building directly across the street from Terminal 1 (used by Lufthansa and other Star Alliance airlines). You can get to the Regionalbahnhof by going down stairs or escalators directly inside the streetside wall of the great hall of terminal 1. Most of the trains usinging the Regionalbahnhof are local trains going to/from Frankfurt's main station, the Hauptbahnhof (Hbf).

The long distance trains leave from the Fernbahnhof, which is farther out. You get to it by taking a pedestrian bridge from the 2nd floor mezannine of Terminal 1, across the access road, then following the hallway out to the station (the hallway actually goes across the Autobahn). Trains from the Fernbahnhof might go to the Frankfurt Hbf, but usually not.

To get to these stations from the other terminal (Terminal 2), there is a bus from in front of that terminal that takes you the long way around to the front of Terminal 1. However, the best alternative is usually to follow the signs up to the roof for the Skyline, which will take you to the roof of Terminal 1. From there you go down to the main hall.

As for the schedule you got, I think you made the "rookie" mistake of using RailEurope. RailEurope posts schedules only for the few trains for which they sell ticket - by no means a complete list. Don't use them. Use the Bahn website, http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. You will find that there are regular ICE connections from the Fernbahnhof directly to Mannheim, from which you can take an S-bahn or regional train to Heidelberg.

Hi Larry,
We are flying into Frankfurt next month and will be taking the train to Wuerzburg.

I am assuming that we will catch our train from the regional station across the street from Terminal 1.

Is this correct?
Thank you! Laurie

Laurie,

I'm not Larry but give it a try anyway... The answer to your question depends on the type of train you take.
To Wuerzburg, you will probably take a direct IC or ICE train - these depart, of course, from FERNBAHNHOF.

Or are you travelling on regional trains with a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket or Länder-Tickets? That would require a change in Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. In that case you'll depart from Regionalbahnhof.

For Heidelberg (as well as Würzburg) you depart from Fernbahnhof. When you search for your connection on http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

for start station/stop enter

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf

and for destination station/stop enter

Heidelberg Hbf

(You can copy and paste)

Travelling time to Heidelberg will be 50 min with a change in Mannheim.

The Fernbahnhof is virtually within the airport. You just walk from the baggage claim area. Look for signs "DB Fernbahnhof". Very easy.

Laurie,

from FRA to Würzburg you can take either an express train from the Fernbahnhof or regional trains from the Regionalbahnhof. Express trains cost more (€27-€33 per person) but are faster (~1:30). Regional trains take longer (2:20)and require a change at Frankfurt Hbf, but cost less (€20,10 per person for 2 with a Bayern-Ticket).

The direct ICEs (Intercity Express) cost the most at €33 per person. There are more ICEs than there are Intercity or Eurocity trains, but the IC/ECs are also direct and take the same amount of time for €27 per person.

For a single person, the least expensive fare is a Bayern-Ticket-Single for €19, puchased from a ticket automat in the Regionalbf plus a €6,60 local ticket (you can use the counter for this) to Kahl, the first stop in Bavaria. That's €25,60. For only €1,40 more you can take an IC; I would probably do that, but the regional connections run every hour, while the IC/EC connections are less frequent.

For two or more people (up to five) the regular Bayern-Ticket costs €27. So for two people it's €27 plus €6,60 each or €40,20, €20,10 per person.

For three people its €15,60 each. For four or five people you get a local price category 5 Group Day Ticket for €22, so it costs €49 (€10-12 per person) for all of you.

The trip from FRA to Würzburg is relatively short and the fares relatively low, so it doesn't real matter much how you do it, but it should be noted that the Bayern-Ticket fares I quoted would be valid to anywhere in Bavaria, whereas the point to point fares would be higher if you went farther. For instance, it you were going to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the regional fares would be the same, but it you were using express trains you would add another €9 per person to the fares I showed to Würzburg. And, the trip from Würzburg to Rothenburg uses only regional trains.

An addditional consideration is that the Bayern-Ticket is valid for the local transport in Würzburg, while with express tickets you would have to pay extra.

The building directly across the street from Terminal 1 is actually a bus terminal. The Regional Bahnhof is under it. You get to the Regionalbf by going down stairs or escalators inside the streetside wall of Terminal 1 and crossing under the access road.

According to German Rail's website (Bahn.de) the walk from Terminal 1 to the Fernbahnhof takes 10 minutes. I have found their times to be somewhat conservative, but their distance (1/4 km) is probably correct.

When I measure it on Google Earth, the Fernbahnhof is about 0.15mi or 0.25km further away from the Regionals.

Hi Everyone,
Boy, I am really glad I asked this question! You did a great job of informing me of all the options available.

Since we are flying in from the USA, I am sure we will be very tired upon arrival, so we are going to take a direct ICE train from Fernbahnhof.

Thank you so much for all the great information!
Laurie

Laurie - I did the same thing what you'll be doing back in April 2007. Flew into FRA then caught the train from the airport Fernbahnhof to Wurzberg (actually, I continued on to Nurnberg). It was very easy to find the Fernbahnhof - just follow the signs.

BTW, if you're a Bank of America debit card holder and looking for a Deutsche Bank ATM (fee-free for BoA ATM cards), there's one at the Fernbahnhof.

Thank you for the reassurance, yk. It sounds like the station will be fairly easy to find.

Laurie,

on what airline to you arrive in Frankfurt. It makes a difference as to which terminal you use.

Hi Larry,
Thank you for your help. We are flying on United Airlines. Do you know which terminal we will fly into?

Probably terminal 1 - but let's wait for experts to confirm this.

United is at Terminal 1:


http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1115,00.html