An ICE train departs from Amsterdam Centraal for Frankfurt

Frankfurt to Amsterdam by train

How to take a swish German ICE train from central Germany to the Dutch capital

Travelling by direct train from Frankfurt (Main) to Amsterdam is a fascinating journey.

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Routes

From Frankfurt Main Hbf to Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CS

Travel Information

Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/CS

All trains also call at: Frankfurt Flughafen and Arnhem (connect for Nijmegen); and Utrecht (connect for Den Haag and Rotterdam)

Usual timetable:
Monday to Friday: 7 x trains per day
Saturday = 5 x trains
Sunday = 6 x trains

However, due to ongoing technical problems with the international type of ICE trains used on this route, many of the departures by ICE train are currently experiencing short notice cancellations.
This is also the reason why the train which typically departs Frankfurt (Main) just before 16:30 is commencing its journey in Dusseldorf until Dec 9th; though it usually has a well timed connection in Dusseldorf with a train which departs Frankfurt (Main) hbf at 13:09.

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for these direct trains.

Look for journeys that have the corresponding journey time of between 3hr 50min - and 4hrs.

However, when there are works on the line, it's not unusual for these trains to take a different route between Koln/Cologne and Amsterdam, particularly at weekends - and when they do so, the journey time will be longer.

Trains departing at different times can also be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Seat reservations:

Book 1st class tickets for this train journey from Amsterdam to Frankfurt (Main) and your seat reservation should be included with your booking - it definitely will be if you book with DB.

However, if you book a 2nd class ticket, or will be travelling with a 1st class or 2nd class InterRail or Eurail pass, then a seat reservation is an optional extra.
Meaning that available seats aren't guaranteed for the entire journey.

Though this is a route on which reservations are recommended, particularly after midday on Fridays and Sundays.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €35.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
NS Intl from €35.90

NS Intl Guide

NS is the Dutch national rail operator and it operates a bespoke website for the booking of international rail journeys from and to The Netherlands.
Therefore it offers tickets for journeys by:

  • Thalys trains to Bruxelles and Paris
  • IC trains to Berlin via Hannover and Bruxelles via Antwerpen
  • Eurostar to London
  • ICE trains to Basel and Frankfurt (Main) via Koln
  • the Nightjet trains to Austria and Germany

NS International also sells tickets to a range of destinations in Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Italy and Switzerland, which involve a change of train in Germany, along with the destinations in France, which can be accessed by making a connection in Bruxelles.

Omio from €35.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Happy rail from €35.90

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Save A Train from €35.90

Save A Train Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

On the majority of dates until mid April, due to maintenance works on the railways around Frankfurt (Main), these trains will be commencing their journeys in the station a Frankfurt Flughafen / Airport, so direct journeys won't be available.
Connecting ICE trains should be departing around 20mins before the usual departure time of these trains.

Journey description:

There are few scenic highlights on this trip, though if you'll be reaching journey's end before dusk, on the right the railway line is beside a canal for the part of the journey between Utrecht and Amsterdam

What gives the journey the wow factor is when the train travels at more than 280 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line between Frankfurt Flughafen and Seigburg/Bonn.

The video was taking on a train travelling in the opposite direction, but it gives a sense of  what a thrill this train ride can be; this is a journey when it's especially obvious that you're travelling on a high speed train!

Though this high speed part of the journey only takes 40 mins, so for the majority of this trip, the train won't be travelling exceptionally fast.

The train which typically departs Frankfurt at 16:28 will reverse direction on departure from Koln

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This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.

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