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I have a flight departing from Frankfurt Terminal 1 to New Delhi, India. I will be arriving in Frankfurt via train from Brussels.

Which station would I have to go to in order to get to Frankfurt Terminal 1. Is it Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof or Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof?

What is the difference between these stations? And which one is closest to Terminal 1?

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Long distance trains stop in Fernbahnhof, local trains stop in Regionalbahnhof. You'll most likely arrive in an ICE at Fernbahnhof.

Both train stations are located at Terminal 1. The regional train station is closer to the terminal, almost inside the terminal. The long distance train station requires a 7-8 minutes walk (maybe 300 meter, indoors, including escalators), depending on the amount of people. The way is all covered and well marked, so you don't have to fear to get lost.

You should not try to avoid this walk: it's close to impossible to change to a regional train to arrive at Regionalbahnhof - you will waste much more time changing trains than you need for walking.

Additional information - not actually asked in the question:

Only in case you're coming from Frankfurt central station, you should try to take a regional train instead of a (not faster but more expensive) long distance train. The duration of the trip is the same for all kinds of trains, but as said before, the Regionalbahnhof for regional trains is closer to the terminal. Typically, the fastest connection is using S8 or S9 from (underground) plattform 103 - they run evey 15 minutes during the day. Sometimes there are other S or RE trains starting from the ground level plattforms as well - just check the time table in case there is no connection in the underground station within 15 minutes.

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  • So I get down at Ferbanhof – ng.newbie Jul 25 '18 at 17:25
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    Coming from Frankfurt central station, one would usually take the S-Bahn (and not a "regular" regional train) to the airport as they run more often (1 regular train/hour vs. 4 S-Bahn trains). Since the S-Bahn leaves from the lower floor and IIRC the trains are announced on separate boards, I think it's worth mentioning them explicitly. – Sabine Jul 25 '18 at 19:47
  • @Sabine It should be pointed out that the S-Bahn trains from Hauptbahnhof to the airport (S8/S9) currently depart from the upper floor (tracks 20/21/22 iirc). As a result, they're shown on the normal train departure board, not the S-Bahn board. – Ventero Jul 25 '18 at 21:07
  • @Ventero This will change again next week (2018-08-06) - but there are always few S-Bahn trains from plattforms in the overground station, so you have to check which one is the next, but plattform 103 is usually the best guess. – asdfex Jul 26 '18 at 4:57
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Both will work and are not that far apart.

The best answer depends a bit on how your train ticket is booked. If you don't need to change at Frankfurt main station, by all means go directly to Fernbahnhof. There are actually a few ICE trains that go from Brussel Midi (and Brussels Nord) to Fernbahnhof without having to change trains at all!

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    All fast connections from Brussels have a stop at Flughafen Fernbahnhof. There are no trains passing by the airport and going to Frankfurt central station directly. The direct trains are usually ICE and run about every 2-3 hours. – asdfex Jul 25 '18 at 18:25

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