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Hamburg to Frankfurt by train
How to take the rail journey Hamburg to Frankfurt (Main)
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Routes
From Hamburg Hbf to Frankfurt Main Hbf
Journey Summary
3hr 36- 3hr 42min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Departing from Hamburg:
Most of these trains commence their journeys at Hamburg-Altona station and they all call at Hamburg-Dammtor before they arrive at Hamburg hbf.
So it can be a good idea to look up the starting point of your journey and then book tickets from the most convenient station; only Hamburg Hbf has connections with the U-Bahn (subway).
Final Destination: Basel or Interlaken or Zurich or Stuttgart
A variety of different types of ICE trains are used on this route.
Most of the trains heading to Zurich or Chur, the departures in the even hours, will be the newer ICE 4 trains.
However, most of the departures heading to Stuttgart, the departures in the odd hours. will be by ICE 1 trains.
The Sprinter service:
A newly added departure on Mon-Fri at 06:06 will race to Frankfurt (Main) hbf in only 3hr 21min, thanks to it making only one intermediate station call at Hannover.
The alternative route:
In most hours there are also now other ICE trains between Hamburg and Frankfurt (Main), but they are around an hour slower than these trains because they don't use the high speed line.
As a consequence DB doesn't sell tickets for journeys by those slower trains.
But if you will be travelling with a rail pass take care to avoid those trains
1 x train per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
On the DB booking site look for journeys that have
- 0 in the Chg. column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.
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.
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Reservations:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on 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 for a long journey such as this one, at busy times you'll be fortunate to be able to remain in the same seat all the way from Hamburg to Basel if you don't reserve.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €17.90 | |
| Omio | from €17.90 (in £s) | |
| Happy rail | from €17.90 | |
| Save A Train | from €17.90 | |
| Save A Train | from €17.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
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.
It's a pleasant, easy and comfortable by train from Hamburg to Frankfurt (Main)
It's not a journey packed with wow moments, but the train will be on a high speed line between Hannover and Fulda; and this line is more scenic than most high speed routes.
Look out for the views across the countryside between the many tunnels.
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