Frankfurt (Flughafen) to Mannheim and back

[leightonbd]

i have to fly to Frankfurt next Sunday, make my way to Mannheim (the twin town of my home town, incidentally) and then make the return journey on Monday evening.

Trains to/ from the airport seem to be a bit irregular, though not infrequent - without the schedule in front of me, I recall one an hour at same time and another within the hour but at varying times, so 2 tph but at irregular intervals.

I am assuming I can just buy a single ticket and get on any train.

I have caught German trains before, and speak German modestly well, so am pretty relaxed about the trip, though keen to be sure not to make a schoolboy error. Is it as straightforward as it seems? Is there anything interesting or scenic to look out for (albeit I will be traveling at about 4-5 pm each day, so it may be gloomy)? Any thoughts and observations gratefully received.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

Nothing interesting to see, but the service is indeed incredibly straightforward. With a normalpreis ticket, you can get on any train any hour of the day. You can also get advance fares by booking on their website and/or the DB App. The ICE trains go from the Fernverkehr station, which is about 15 mins way by shuttle bus/skytrain from Terminal 2.

Enjoy Mannheim. That has lots of interest if you are into light rail/tram networks.

 

[Bigchris]

It's always a difficult question when somebody asks if there's anything interesting in a certain place, it really depends what you're interested in? As you've asked on here I'll assume railways is a main interest. If you want to see a load of German locos then head out to Mannheim Arena station, literally 4 mintues from the Hbf on the S-Bahn. It's one of the major marshalling yards in Germany with a bridge across one end of the yard, and the main attraction (for me) is there are steps off this bridge that lead down and you can walk round the loco depot (I'd recommend a high viz vest if you have one). I've been there quite a few times on Sunday evenings (it would be dark for you though) and mid-week early mornings, and you can normally get 70-80 locos stabled in the various parts of the depot.
I can't tell you anything about the city I'm afraid, I've stayed in Heidelberg when I've been in that area, a lovely place with a great old city centre and plenty of nice bars, if rather expensive and touristy.

 

[Groningen]

You can better take the ICE nonstop, than using S and RE. Cheapest price i see is 19,90; the S/RE is only 0,20 euro cheaper and is with change at Frankfurt Niederrad 45 minutes longer.

 

[dutchflyer]

CHeapest-as so often in DE, is using non-ICE local trains and using the Verkehrsverbund tariff. Alas, in this case it means 2: RMV as far as (I think) Bensheim, then VRN. it all depends on what other trips you intend to do in your stay what works out best in total.
However- if its just 2 days, the RMV Rhein Main tourist card for 22 eur is a real bargain, valid in the whole area. you can also use to direct BUS from airport to Darmstadt to connect with the many trains from there.
Perhaps your airline has an agreement for Rail&Fly-in that case you could get fairly cheap tickets without ''zugbindung''=valid as advance in 1 train only, though often this is flat rate and not so good for such fairly short trips.
You do not need to speekee the deutsch-nearly all tickets are sold from machines that also offer your homespeek and take both €cash and nearly all cards. Just like at bahn.de they will present the next trains/connections out and the price. Returns do not give any discount-but it will be easier to buy advance for the return as you can stick to fixed timings

 

[leightonbd]

Thanks to each of you for replying. ‘Interesting’ was meant to be a reference to scenery etc. Although I will enjoy a look at the train action around Mannheim it’s a business visit, straight in, work all day Monday and then straight out.

Pics and brief report next week!

 

[30907]

Thanks to each of you for replying. ‘Interesting’ was meant to be a reference to scenery etc. Although I will enjoy a look at the train action around Mannheim it’s a business visit, straight in, work all day Monday and then straight out.

Pics and brief report next week!

As to scenery etc - the route is pretty flat, the hills over to the East. The only thing I remember about Mannheim city is a park which charged for admission. I am sure the park was very nice....

 

[sprunt]

If you want to see a load of German locos then head out to Mannheim Arena station, literally 4 mintues from the Hbf on the S-Bahn. It's one of the major marshalling yards in Germany with a bridge across one end of the yard, and the main attraction (for me) is there are steps off this bridge that lead down and you can walk round the loco depot (I'd recommend a high viz vest if you have one). I've been there quite a few times on Sunday evenings (it would be dark for you though) and mid-week early mornings, and you can normally get 70-80 locos stabled in the various parts of the depot.

I've just been looking at this on Google Maps, and is it normal in Germany for depots to be so accessible? I wouldn't have thought they'd have wanted people to be able to get in so easily.

 

[Bigchris]

In my experience most German depots are very accessible, with only a couple of exceptions on my many visits. I would certainly recommend playing it safe, hi-vis vest when walking around the depots, stick to the walkways and hard standings where possible, and don't go across tracks where trains are likely to run, but most places seem fairly un-bothered by you being there. I always make a point to say hello to anybody I pass and I've had success in most locations.
Some of the bigger loco depots you should be able to access with ease include Mannheim, Gremberg (Cologne), Maschen (Hamburg), Munchen Nord, Seelze (Hannover), Oberhausen-Osterfeld Sud, Ingolstadt, and many others I've visited. Nuremberg Rbf (the freight loco depot) has a high security fence around part of it but is still accessible from the top side of the depot, and on a couple of visits since the new fence, nobody seemed bothered by me being there anyway. The only places I've ever been told it's not possible is the passenger depot at Cologne Hansaring, and Muhldorf (a mixed depot that includes both passenger trains and freight locos). Maybe it's the passenger depots that have different rules and aren't so hospitable to visitors?
I've found many other European countries to be equally relaxed including Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria, and in Poland I even got a good look inside the sheds at Krakow Biezanow and Wroclaw Brochow. This actually has the potential to be a thread in itself, a handy reference for depots that are accessible around Europe (and the world).
Without wanting to go off on any more of a tangent, I was in Thailand about 9 or 10 years ago and decided to try and have a look at Bang Sue depot in Bangkok. I spoke to the security guard at the entrance who marched me to what I assume was the foreman's office as he thought I was a journalist digging for a story (there had very recently been a fatal accident and some bad press regarding Thai railways). Once I explained I was merely a railway enthusiast and only wanted some photos of the locos (proved with showing him my Fotopic site) he made it quite clear to the security guard that he was to escort me around the depot wherever I wanted to go, which included the compound I really wanted to see where the old scrap locos were. As with all other Thai's I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with, very friendly and extremely helpful.
Anyway, back on subject, from my own personal experience, yes you can get around Mannheim depot if you're sensible, along with many other major depots in Germany. Good luck, and hope you have a good trip.

 

[leightonbd]

I’m afraid I wasn’t going round the depots or even spotting, it was just a business trip and I wanted to be sure I got the best of DB.

Fft Flughafen Fernbahnhof (long distance station) is a beautiful design, long and slim beneath an arched glass roof with two island platforms. Ticket buying really easy from many well located machines. Both trains were crowded but with seats to spare. Both my trains were late and the locals I was meeting claim that is not at all surprising in Germany nowadays, with Switzerland the last redoubt of immaculate timekeeping. The Flughafen is well signposted generally.

Mannheim Hbf is more in the classic station style with a single station building and then multiple sets of platforms in the open out back. Plenty of freight passing through. Only one functioning ticket machine at street level but there was a DB travel centre at subway level.

Scenery: flat as a pancake as someon suggested. I was hoping for rivers, but no joy.

If I had infinite time. I’d have enjoyed taking the time to return to the UK overground. My meeting finished af 3.45 and I could have made it to Paris that evening. Next time ...

Thanks again to everyone who took time to reply.