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 18min - 1hr 34min
Daily
ICE trains = up to 17 x trains per day
IC/EC trains = 8 x trains per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on rail tickets booked with Omio, a booking service which lists the cheapest option for each day of travel first in its search results. It also often enables easy comparison between taking the train and other modes of transport.
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.
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.
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:
ICE trains - Munchen or Stuttgart;
IC trains - Munchen or Stuttgart,
EC trains - Klagenfurt or Graz
What may not be obvious when looking up this Frankfurt (Main) to Stuttgart journey by train is that there are three types of train service between the two cities
(1) Fastest of all are the ICE trains which take a direct route between Frankfurt (Main) and Mannheim and then use the high speed line between Mannheim and Stuttgart.
ICE 1 trains and ICE 4 trains are used for these departures.
(2) Slower ICE trains that divert off the direct route in order to also call at Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport station, but they use the high speed line between Mannheim and Stuttgart.
ICE 1 trains and ICE 4 trains are used for these departures.
(3) The EC, Railjet and IC trains take a different route via Darmstad and Heidelberg, but they do use the high speed line for the final part of the journeys; though they don't match the speed of the ICE trains.
The timetable is usually arranged so that in even hours there is an IC or EC train, but in odd hours there are 2 x ICE trains; the faster train on the direct route and the slower train, which will be travelling via Frankfurt Flughafen.
Until February 29th and from July 15th to December 14th, most of the route taken by these trains will be affected by construction works, so fewer services will be available and thosw which remain on the timetable will be diverted on to a slower routes.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Aktion and Flexpreis
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
...the other key difference is that both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date - in contrast, both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking,
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for both types of Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis, Flexpreis Aktion and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used to travel to and from the stations in Frankfurt and Stuttgart by public transport
They are also slower ICE trains that divert off the direct route to call at Frankfurt Flughafen.
The timetable is arranged so that in even hours there is an IC or EC train, but in odd hours there are 2 x ICE trains.
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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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