How do I get a train ticket to Koeln from Frankford International Airport?

Question

I'm flying into Frankfurt and I need to get to Koeln. I know there is a train stop in the airport but I'm not sure where to go for a ticket and what train to take. Thanks!

Answer 1

The train goes straight from the airport to Koln...it does not go to the downtown Frankfurt train station

Answer 2

bleedingpenguins' answer is not bad but contains some mistakes.

There are TWO train stations in Frankfurt Airport: one for local trains ("Regionalbahnhof" - which is below Terminal B), and one for long distance trains ("Fernbahnhof" - 5min walking distance from Terminal B); the signs will lead you to either of those stations.

Buying tickets:

- from a ticket machine at any train station: they also offer an english version; you can use credit cards (at least VISA and MasterCard are accepted), they tell you about ANY connection (fast or slow, expensive or less expensive)

- there are DeutscheBahn counters at each of those train stations. Because Frankfurt Airport is international I'd expect the employees to be fluent in english

- on weekends there's a special offer called "Schönes Wochenende Ticket" (nice weekend ticket): for 33,- EUR you can take local trains all over Germany for the whole day, valid for up to 5 persons

- at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.e...

you can book a ticket in advance. I never got a seat reservation so far: because trains are running frequently there are usually seats available at any train; and your plane can be delayed so you might miss your reserved connection.

At the provided link you can also get a train schedule for either fast or slower trains. If you're not in a hurry I strongly recommend not taking the fastest ICE train (passing mostly tunnels) but going via Mainz (IC/EC or local train). This will lead you through the very scenic Rhine Valley. That's probably the most beautiful train route in Germany - maybe the most beautiful worldwide...

Answer 3

No prob at all:

There is a pretty large station directly adjacent to FRA airport, with an international counter. You can buy tickets there, they speak English. The train to Cologne leaves at every full hour and takes 90 minutes.

Answer 4

There is a ticket desk right at the entrance to the train station in the airport.  They usually speak english or at least understand so they can help you.  To get to Koeln, you will probably have to transfer trains at the main train station downtown Frankfurt.

Answer 5

In the Frankfurt Airport there is a trainstation at the bottom level of terminal 1.  There are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction.  There are a few options for getting a ticket.

1) If your German language skills are pretty good, there is a DeutscheBahn  (DB) office in the Airport (also at the bottom level) where you can purchase a ticket.  You can also try to talk to them in English, which should be no problem.  

2) If can't get your point across in German, there are several automatic ticket vending machines that are multi-lingual.  Beware!  If you use the vending machines, you might only be able to get Regional Bahn tickets, which are slow and will stop at every station in sunny Germany.  If you go to the DB office in the airport, you can get the on the express trains.  They are much faster, however more expensive.  But whatever happens, don't get caught on a, Express Train without a ticket.  Bad Sauce, let me tell you.  

3) If you want to get a ticket ahead of time, you can go to the DB website and buy an online ticket.  www.diebahn.de  The website will spit out a itinerary that you will need to bring and hand to the ticket guy on the train along with either some kind of ID or the credit card you used to buy the ticket.  Even if you don't buy the ticket online, you can check the timetables there too.

It's been my experience that train prices tend not to hop up and down like air fare, so it doesn't matter if you buy early or late.  Also the DB people are always very nice and helpful, so you should have no angst about talking to the customer service folks in the DB office at the airport.

Good Luck!