Frankfurt to Hamburg via Train
 

We are starting to fine tune the details of our trip to Germany this summer. We arrive FRA at 11:15. We need to take the train to Hamburg Dammtor. Bahn.de is giving me the following choices:

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf – depart 13:32 Platform Regional 1 on S8
Frankfurt Hbf (tief) Frankfurt Hbf (tief) – arrive 13:43
Walk to Frankfurt(Main)Hbf – depart 13:58 on ICE 72
Hamburg Dammtor – arrive 17:41

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf – depart 14:42 Platform Fern 5 on ICE 576
Hamburg Dammtor – arrive 18:51
Could we make this earlier route at 12:42?

What is the difference between Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbf and Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbf? Should we elect the later route with zero stops over the earlier route with a change of trains?

I <b>think</b> the Ferbf is where ICEs on the high speed line (from Cologne) arrive.

Should have said the ICEs to from and TO Cologne (and on to Hamburg).

I don't remember which is which, but one of them has trains that go to other cities and the other is for the local trains. I believe Fbf is the one that goes to other cities.

The Regionalbf (Bahnhof) is for local trains, hence you will be traveling locally first on the S bahn to the city train station before catching your connection on to Hamburg.

The Fernbf is for distant trains. (Fern in German means distant.) So, you can catch the ICE (Intercity express) directly at the airport.

Both of these stations are located at the airport on different floors, the Fernbahnhof ticketing being upstairs from the Regional. We had to ask directions; but after the flight we were a bit groggy.

We spent about an hour walking through the airport, getting through border control, collecting our bags, clearing customs (no inspection) and finding the train stations. But, our plane arrive over an hour late, so I am glad that we did not have a tight connection.

We waited until we got to Frankfurt to buy our tickets. That part of the process was easy.

Regards, Gary

If your flight really arrives at 11:15, you have plenty of time to make a 12:42 train at the Fernbahnhof, in fact you will probably have to wait for 45 minutes in the Fernbahnhof. It will be even easier if you pack light and have only carryon bags; also easier if you fly an airline such as Lufthansa or United that comes into Terminal 1, not 2.

If you arrive at Terminal 1, when you come out of the concourse, there is a mezzanine in the great hall. You go up the escalators next to the streetside window wall to the mezzanine, across a bridge over the street, then follow the hall out to the Fernbahnhof. You can buy you tickets there. I don't think it takes more than 10 minutes from the great hall to the Fernbahnhof.

If you take the S-bahn into Frankfurt, you go down the steps just inside that window wall. The Regionalbahnhof is underground across the street from the terminal. In Frankfurt, you will have 15 minutes to come up two or more floors from the tief (deep) subway station to the main part of the station. That's doable, but you will need to know where you are going. There are signs. I think they are in English (but since I understand German, I have never noticed). On the other hand, there are frequent S-bahns to Frankfurt Hbf, so if you get there on time, you can also take an earlier train and have plenty of time to make the connnection. There are also regional trains (and a few of the S-bahn) that go into the ground level tracks at the Hbf, so you wouldn't have so far to go.

Thanks for everyone's quick response. We are arriving on Singapore Air which I think comes in to Terminal 1, however, we will have checked luggage. We are traveling during the height of world cup and will be making our way to Hamburg the day before a match. I think we should purchase tickets and most likely seat reservations soon. Several of the routes I have searched already indicate that reservations are suggested due to anticipated demand.

If you purchase your tickets online from DB, the reservations are &euro;1,50 and you can print the ticket on your home computer.

If your plane is late, and you miss your reserved train, you lose the &euro;1,50, but you still have an open ticket, and you can try to get new reservations at the airport.

I have only been on two packed trains in Germany. One was a regional, so there were no reservations. The other was an ICE, and although all seats were occupied, most were not reserved, so I could have reserved when I bought the ticket earlier in the day.

Why not fly

If Ragdoll could get a connecting flight to Hamburg through Singapore Airline that might work.

Otherwise flying would be more expensive and take longer.

If the flight arrives late and they miss the 12:42 train, there will probably be space on the 14:42.

I don't think you can do that with a plane. They are smaller and much more likely to be full at the last minute.

dumb question, but -- how do you find out into which terminal your airline flies? (i.e., Delta--Terminal 1 or 2)? Thanks

Delta flies into Terminal 2. Go to www.airportcity-frankfurt.com and look at current arrivals. Select to/from Frankfurt and it will give you a choice of departure cities or flight No. DL 14 &amp; 20 fly from Atlanta to Frankfurt.

To get from Terminal 2 to the Fernbahnhof, take the SkyLine shuttle on the roof of the terminal buildings or the bus in front of T2. If you use the bus, it will drop you off in front of T1. Go into the terminal, then up the steps and across the pedestrian bridge to the Fernbahnhof.

Having made this transfer several times,I would advise you to take the shuttle bus. It runs every 10 minutes.

You should be able to get the ICE from the airport (Fernbahnhof) at 12:42. It arrives at Hamburg-Dammtor at 16:41 without changing trains. If you miss this train, don't worry. Your ticket is valid for any other train. However, one hour later you will have to change trains at Frankfurt main station (Hauptbahnhof). This is nasty because you will have to carry your baggage from the local train which arrives on a lower level to the main level (of course, there are lifts and escalators).

I would strongly suggest that you buy first class tickets, even though the trip by train is not such a long one. Since you say it is world cup time, I would not want to ride in 2nd and have to sit on my suitcase! I've had to do this before, on just regular days, and it's not fun. I've learned to always buy 1st class and have a comfy seat!

It is possible to buy your tickets once you arrive in FRA. I've done this too many times to count. I can very often be on a train within one hour of arriving in FRA, but don't want to take the chance of delays in flight, so I don't buy in advance.

bookmarking

Simpsonc510,

you apparently confuse ticket class with having a seat. First class does not automatically guarantee a seat. Nor does 2nd class mean you will HAVE to sit on your suitcase; it is just as easy to have a reserved seat in 2nd class as it is in 1st class.

My suggestion to Ragdoll was to buy her tickets online before she leaves and to reserve seats at the same time. This way, if the flight is a little late, she won't be left standing in the ticket line when the train pulls out. The reservations cost only &euro;1,50 each, and the tickets are open tickets that can be used anytime, so there is almost no risk associated with having reserved seats on the desired train. If she misses the first train, she can use the tickets on the next one with new reservations she makes when she gets to the Fernbahnhof.

Fares on most trains according to the bahn.de site are 94 euro each way to Hamburg from the Fernbahnhof and a few at 74 euro - most are 96 euro x 2 = 192 euro - thus the German Rail Twin Pass at $150 each for two people traveling together for 4 days of unlimited travel spread over a one-month period would save you lots of money. Not sold in Germany. You can scan the German site for SPAR special prices but this locks you into a certain train and probably isn't even available - but if it were you still don't know when your plane will really land. You can make train reservations when you buy your pass. I always recommend BETS (800-441-2387) for their expertise and lack of some of RailEurope's mailing fees - check German Railpass prices at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - passes can be up to 10 days total but start at 4. Anyway seems like a no-brainer to me in your case. www.euraide.com, an American company with offices in Munich's train station is also a German specialist.

I did end up using BudgetEurope and purchased first class, 4-day twin passes. I then went onto bahn.de and made seat reservations for the 12:42 ICE to Hamburg. The TwinPass will be used later in the week to get to Berlin and then again from Munich to Salzburg. Thanks to all! I could never have planned this trip without the help of this board.