Exterior view of Stuttgart Hbf

Frankfurt to Stuttgart by train

How to take the rail journey from Frankfurt (Main) to Stuttgart

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Routes

From Frankfurt Main Hbf to Stuttgart Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination:

ICE trains - Munchen or Stuttgart;
IC trains - Munchen or Stuttgart,
EC trains - Klagenfurt or Graz

ICE trains = up to 17 x trains per day
IC/EC trains = 8 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn 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.

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

  1. 0 in the Chg. column
  2. EC IC or  ICE  in the Products column (see the note below)

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.

Choosing a journey:

There can be particularly large price differences between departures on this journey; the ICE trains can be cheaper than the IC/EC trains.

The train service between Frankfurt (Main) and Stuttgart is split between:
(1) ICE trains 
(2) IC trains
(3) EC trains
The IC and EC trains have similar journey times and they're only around 15 mins slower than the faster ICE trains.

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.

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.

Omio from €17.90

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.

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.

Trainline from €17.90

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

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.

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