Train question
 

I will be flying United Airlines into Frankfurt on Tuesday, June 19th arriving at 11:35 am from Houston, TX. I want to connect by train to Stuttgart. I see on the DB website that there is a nonstop train, costing 29 Euros, leaving at 1:20pm. There is another train leaving at 1:54pm, costing 39 Euros, and this one has a change of trains, I believe, in Mannheim (6 minutes layover). Should I take one of these two trains or a later one? I will check to see which terminal I arrive in, but how far will the walk be to the train station at the airport? Also, if I take the later train does anyone know if the tracks are close to each other in Mannheim to make an easy connection? I will have my one rolling suitcase and a backpack. I have not bought a ticket yet, but would like to soon before the prices go up. Thanks!

If you look in www.bahn.de at "Show details" for the selected train, you can see all these info. The train leaving the airport at 1:54 pm arrives in M. at track 4 and then you take another train from track 5. So probably they are adjacent.

I would just caution you that a flight delay could derail your train plans and force you to forfeit one of the cheap advance-sale tickets.

For the 1:54 trip: If you click on the horizontal arrow at the left, you'll get the info on the Mannheim change - including the track numbers. Tracks 4 (arrival) & 5 (departure) share the same platform. Here's a diagram of the station:

http://www.bahnhof.de/site/bahnhoefe...__mannheim.pdf

Wonderful! Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping they would be adjacent tracks in Mannheim. Do you think I will be giving myself enough time taking the 1:54 train if my plane does arrive at 11:35? I think the next train is one hour later, at 2:54. I will have just carry on luggage, no checked bags.

Just a thought- There is a direct train that leaves Frankfurt Flughafen at 15:20 that only costs 34 Euro if you want to save a few bucks (compared to the 39 Euro for the 13:54 train which requires a transfer) and be pretty sure you can make it. And I suspect you will have to change airline terminals to catch the train and you may need the extra time...You could have a snack at the airport to kill time if it is needed...

I know I can wait longer, but I would prefer to be at my destination...if I can make the earlier connection I would prefer to. Does anyone think I would have a problem with the 1:54 time? Of course, if my plane is very late, I will lose out which I understand.

Those of you who know the Frankfurt Airport please put yourself in my shoes. I would like your opinion. I have not been through the Frankfurt Airport in 5 years. With my plane supposedly arriving at 11:35 am, I am thinking I should go no earlier than the 1:54pm, 2:54pm, or 3:20pm trains. Which would you recommend I would be safest scheduling, not knowing all the contingencies of plane arriving late, possible delay going through customs, etc. I will take a consensus and go with it and whatever happens I will deal with it! Thanks again. I would like to get to my destination, but I don't want to be rushing to make the connection.

KK, the last time I landed in Frankfurt(April 2012), I flew AA and arrived at 0815. I cleared immigration, stopped for shopping, ate breakfast and picked up the rental in less than 1.5 hours. I would think you could make the 1354 without issue.

The most comfortable, nerve-saving option is a non-restricted ticket for €59.
It's good for any train throughout the whole day. And you don't need reservations.
Just buy and print online, also print the several connections between your arrival and, say, 2pm. And just stroll to the train station and hop on the next train.
And it's just a €20 "surcharge" compared to the saver tickets. And you don't save that much actually.
Saver tickets make most sense for much longer trips when the walk-up fare can be €80 or 100.
In your case, it will give you much more flexibility for little extra money.
It can happen as well that your flight is half an hour or an hour early. And you would sit forever at Frankfurt airport until your train with the discount ticket departed.

I would follow Cowboy's advice - much more flexibility and no risk for not much more money.

Agree with Cowboy's advice - we have done this three times in the last year and a bit - and takes away worry and risk.
We too usually stop for breakfast and simple shopping - without the worry of a set train time.

I thank you all for the advice and that is what I decided to do after reading from here and other posts.

I also posted this question on someone else's post:
Since I will be staying in Germany for 9 weeks and will do some travel, mostly within the region around Stuttgart, but some further distances, should I buy one of the Bahn cards? I know the cost of the Bahn 25 will be covered just going RT from Frankfurt to Stuttgart, but should I purchase another one? Can the card(s) be used for multiple trips? Are they good for a certain length of time? I will also be asking the relocation specialist from the school where I will be working, but any other helpful advice please send my way. Thanks again everyone!