The impressive exterior at Hannover Hbf

Frankfurt to Hannover by train

How to take the very straightforward rail journey from Frankfurt (Main) to Hannover

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Routes

From Frankfurt Main Hbf to Hannover Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona (or Kiel)

All trains also call at: Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe

1 x train per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

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

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

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Trains departing at different times can 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.

Reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Opting to reserve is particularly recommended if you will be travelling at business hours and/or during the day on Fridays and Sundays.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €17.90

DB Bahn 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.

Save A Train from €17.90

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail from €17.90

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.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Note that you will be travelling on an ICE 1 or an ICE 4 train; as Germany's newest ICE trains are now used on some departures on this route.
If you will be travelling with a non-folding bicycle, you can only take it on the ICE 4 trains, but if you look up the journey on the DB, German national railways, booking service, you can hone in on which departures will use these trains.

From April 1st until December 9th

Due to maintenance work on the high speed line from April 1st until December 9th typically used by these trains between Kassel and Fulda, the trains on this route will be diverted on to the slower, older railway.
As a result journey times will be extended by around 40-45 minutes.
Therefore during this period the journey times will temporarily only be around 20mins slower than the alternative route taken by the non-high speed ICE trains that take a route through Marburg.

These trains use the high speed line between Fulda and Hannover.
And this line is more scenic than most high-speed routes, there are fairly frequent long-distance views across a rolling landscape, from the viaducts between the tunnels.

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