Looking down on Chur station from the PostBus terminal

Frankfurt to Chur by train

How to take the wonderful rail journey from Frankfurt (Main) to the gateway to the best of Switzerland

Some of the ICE trains to Switzerland from central Germany head for Chur, where connections are available to multiple Alpine resort towns and villages.

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Routes

From Frankfurt Main Hbf to Chur

Travel Information

These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf daily at 10:06 and 14:06; and on most dates there is also a departure at 05:50

Final Destination: Chur

Connect at Chur into RhB trains on towards St Moritz and Arosa.

All trains also call at: Zurich and Landquart

Connect at Landquart into RhB trains towards Klosters and Davos.

2 or 3 x trains per day - until April 1st

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

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

On the DB Bahn booking site look for the journeys that have:

  • 0 in the Chg. column
  • ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.

These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf daily at 10:06 and 14:06 and on most dates there is also a departure at 05:50, so target those times when initially looking up this journey.

Reservations are highly recommended - book a 1st class ticket and your seat will be assigned, but not if you book 2nd class or will be travelling with a rail pass.

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.
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.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesHigh Speed (partial journey)Lake viewsLandscape (Hills / Mountains)

Good to Know

From Apr 1st to December 9th:

Due to maintenance works on the high-speed route between Kassel and Frankfurt, the timetable is being amended during this period of time, which will alter the pattern of departures.
During this time the direct trains from Frankfurt (Main) to Chur won't be available.

Connections will be available in Basel or Zurich into trains on to Chur.
The end-to-end journeys with a time of 8hr 58min match the timings of the direct trains, but that timing is achieved by a non-guaranteed 7 min connection between trains.
Chur typically has 2 or 3 x trains per hour from Zurich, so arriving in Chur won't be problem if the train from Hamburg is delayed, but if you book Sparpreis tickets you will need to transfer them (free of charge) so that they can be used on the later train.

Journey description:

It can be worth targeting the morning departures in order to make the most of the stunning views that can be seen on the final 80 mins of the train ride.

From the left of the train (when facing the direction) of travel, there are fabulous views over Lake Zurich...

and then over the Walensee...

...before the train calls in Sargans.

Then between Sargans and Chur there are very pleasant views of distant mountain ranges from both sides of the train.

The train will reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB and Zurich HB stations.

Lake Zurich comes into view around 10 mins after the train has departed from Zurich station Lake Zurich comes into view around 10 mins after the train has departed from Zurich station
For more than 20 mins there is little between the railway and the lake For more than 20 mins there is little between the railway and the lake
Leaving Lake Zurich behind and heading east Leaving Lake Zurich behind and heading east
10 minutes later the train will begin to pass the Wallensee 10 minutes later the train will begin to pass the Wallensee
Leaving the Walensee behind as the train heads towards Sargans Leaving the Walensee behind as the train heads towards Sargans
Heading south between Sargans and Landquart Heading south between Sargans and Landquart

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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.

We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.

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