When taking a train from Frankfurt (Main) to Cologne / Köln there are three things to keep in mind.
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
1hr - 1hr 15min (approx)
Daily
To Koln Hbf:
1 or 2 trains per hour
To Koln Messe-Deutz:
1 x train per hour
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
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.
On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:
When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).
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
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 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.
Final Destination: Bruxelles or Dortmund or Amsterdam (or others)
All trains also call at: Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport
Some trains also call at: Seigburg/Bonn - which has connections to Bonn city centre.
The fastest trains only make one station call during the journey at Frankfurt Flughafen, but other trains can make up to three other station calls.
These trains travel at up to 285 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line between Frankfurt Flughafen and Siegburg/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!
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
When looking for tickets to Köln on DB, the German national railways booking service, type ‘K‘ into the ‘to box and not ‘Ko‘; do so and you will be able to see journeys that arrive at both Köln Hbf and Köln Messe/Deutz stations.
Tickets for journeys to Koln Messe/Deutz can also be cheaper than those to Koln Hbf; and it can also be easier to book a journey which involves changing trains at Koln Messe/Deutz
Some ICE trains have much longer journeys as they take the non-high speed (but much more scenic) route via Koblenz and Mainz.
If you want to take the fastest direct trains to Koln Hbf, on the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that have:
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
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 on this route
2hrs 20min
Daily
10 x trains per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
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.
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
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 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.
Note that none of the trains on this route typically call at Koln Messe/Deutz, they all arrive at Koln Hbf.
Step on board for the most spectacular journey taken by German express trains!
Around twenty minutes after departure the train will cross the River Rhine.
(the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction).
After Bingen there are some fabulous views of The Rhine Gorge from the right of the train, when facing the direction of travel.
After Boppard the train will travel right by the river for the final part of the journey all the way to Koblenz; the views of the valley aren't quite as spectacular north of Boppard, but they're still fabulous!
This part of the journey is a delight, you can't miss the endless parade of boats travelling up and down the river and look out for the multitude of castles perched on top of the hills.
Then after Koblenz, north of Remagen there are yet more fine views of the Rhine Valley, even on a grey day!
As our images show, this is a journey which can be worth taking for the sake of making the trip, even if the weather isn't absolutely perfect.
(These three video clips of the Rhine River were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction)
This journey is also so fabulous that it's also included on Thrillist's guide to Europe's Most Beautiful Train Rides and on Go Go Places' list of Europe's Most Scenic Train Rides AND on Far And Wide's list of the Most Remarkable Train Journeys in Europe.
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.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please go here to say thank you.
Book these tickets only if you specifically want to take the trains that travel the longer, but much more scenic route via Koblenz through the Upper Rhine Valley.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
When looking for tickets to Köln on DB type ‘K‘ into the ‘to‘ box and not ‘Ko‘.
Check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
On the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that have:
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.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
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