Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Platform Question
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 322
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Platform Question
I will be arriving at the train station at Platform 19 and will be connecting to a train on Platform 6. Here are my questions:
1. Does anyone know how far apart these platforms are?
2. Will 15 minutes be enough time to move from one to the other?
3. Is there a map of this train station?
I will have a senior citizen with me who walks slowly. Thanks for any help.
1. Does anyone know how far apart these platforms are?
2. Will 15 minutes be enough time to move from one to the other?
3. Is there a map of this train station?
I will have a senior citizen with me who walks slowly. Thanks for any help.
#2
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
Perhaps 13 platforms apart....but there is a little more to think about...
you assume the arriving train will not be late.
you also have to consider your own position on the arriving train...it could be farther away from the access route to the other platform than you expect.
If I were traveling by myself I wouldn't give it another thought but with someone who walks "slowly" you might consider a later train.
Hopefully others will know for certain but I am sure these two platforms are not right next to each other.
you assume the arriving train will not be late.
you also have to consider your own position on the arriving train...it could be farther away from the access route to the other platform than you expect.
If I were traveling by myself I wouldn't give it another thought but with someone who walks "slowly" you might consider a later train.
Hopefully others will know for certain but I am sure these two platforms are not right next to each other.
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,629
Some enthusiasts have have webpage of photos of the station, including one of the ground plan displayed in it:
http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/de/...hnhof/pix.html
It looks to be level access, and I'm guessing you should allow about 100 yards, depending on where you exit one train and enter another. But I wouldn't base all my plans on one train arriving 15 minutes before the other is due to leave.
http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/de/...hnhof/pix.html
It looks to be level access, and I'm guessing you should allow about 100 yards, depending on where you exit one train and enter another. But I wouldn't base all my plans on one train arriving 15 minutes before the other is due to leave.
#4
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
Thanks to Patrick for those pictures (I had forgotten about that site) you can see that those platforms are the typical "stub end" design which means that you have to go all the way to the head of the platform in order to get to another one (as oppposed to having underground walkways which connect the platforms in the middle [Amsterdam Centraal comes to mind]).
If you are on an arriving train and in a coach which stops near the FAR end of a platform that means it will take you even more time to get to your departure one.
If you are on an arriving train and in a coach which stops near the FAR end of a platform that means it will take you even more time to get to your departure one.
#5
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,836
F'furt Hbf is quite a large and busy station, though platforms are clearly marked. I don't recall any shortcut, but I would be just OK making the connection in 15 minutes, if I'm on the end of the train toward "the stub". 15 min may be a tad too tight for your companion, though really depends on how fast/slow he can move.
You can possibly contact Deutsche Bahn about handicapped service (though I don't recall seeing those mobility carts like the ones at airports).
Alternatively, you go ahead to the Platform 6, and "hold" the train till your companion arrives???
You can possibly contact Deutsche Bahn about handicapped service (though I don't recall seeing those mobility carts like the ones at airports).
Alternatively, you go ahead to the Platform 6, and "hold" the train till your companion arrives???
#6
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,000
I think you'll be okay if you move as far forward in the train as possible before you arrive and (if your time is tight) get on the first car you come upon at the departure platform.
If you're not traveling 1st class, your companion's mobility status will almost certainly give you a pass on entering forbidden territory.
The only way a train can be "held" is by pulling the emergency stop. Don't even think about doing it.
If you're not traveling 1st class, your companion's mobility status will almost certainly give you a pass on entering forbidden territory.
The only way a train can be "held" is by pulling the emergency stop. Don't even think about doing it.
#7
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,546
I think that you have not enough time walking slowly.
This spring in Germany we missed some trains connections because the first train arrived late, so take also this in consideration - maybe you will have less than 15 minutes...
Have you seats reservation? If not, you can take any train.
I would make a list of trains at a later time, to be sure that you know what other connections are available.
This spring in Germany we missed some trains connections because the first train arrived late, so take also this in consideration - maybe you will have less than 15 minutes...
Have you seats reservation? If not, you can take any train.
I would make a list of trains at a later time, to be sure that you know what other connections are available.
#8
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
I think Robespierre's point is ell taken but I assume you already know that European trains are unlike the ones in the US and that you can pass through any coach regardless of where your are actually seated or which class your ticket is for. Nobody will challenge you on that point.
You cannot necessarily know which car to board at the departure station and here is why:
sometimes trains are backed into stations even en route.
You cannot necessarily know which car to board at the departure station and here is why:
sometimes trains are backed into stations even en route.
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 322
Thanks all for your info. We will be traveling first class on an ICE from Utrecht, Netherlands.
According to the Die Bahn website, if we miss the train leaving at 14:18, then there are two more following.
Again, thanks for all your info.
According to the Die Bahn website, if we miss the train leaving at 14:18, then there are two more following.
Again, thanks for all your info.
#10
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,000
Good. You can make a try for it and nothing will be lost if you don't make it.
That's interesting, Dukey. I've never seen a train backed into a station. I've seen plenty of double-ended trains (especially on regional shuttle routes). But turning around an entire trainset doesn't make much sense. With very few exceptions, trains are designed to be symmetrical and reversible.
If you perceive that the train is going into the station backwards (and I assume you would have plenty of warning), you can simply walk to the other end.
That's interesting, Dukey. I've never seen a train backed into a station. I've seen plenty of double-ended trains (especially on regional shuttle routes). But turning around an entire trainset doesn't make much sense. With very few exceptions, trains are designed to be symmetrical and reversible.
If you perceive that the train is going into the station backwards (and I assume you would have plenty of warning), you can simply walk to the other end.
