Cologne: Airport Transportation
By Train or Bus to Köln/Bonn, Frankfurt, and Düsseldorf Airports
Nov 5, 2007
Travelers to and from Cologne by air have a choice of three airports within easy reach of the city. Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is the closest and particularly popular with low-cost airlines. Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) can be reached by train in 40 minutes while Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) with its almost limitless flight options is only an hour away by Inter-City Express (ICE) train.
From Cologne by Train to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN)
Traveling between Cologne and Köln/Bonn (CGN) could hardly be easier. S-Bahn train S13 makes the 15-minute journey between Köln/Bonn Flughafen (airport) and Köln Hauptbahnhof (Main Station) up to three times per hour. A few times per day, ICE trains also run on this route but at much higher costs and only 3 minutes faster.
- Cologne’s Hauptbahnhof is a major railway hub with fast connections available to all parts of Germany as well as Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and even London.
From Bonn by Airport Express Bus 670 to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN)
The easiest way from downtown Bonn to Köln/Bonn is by bus. The Airport Express Bus 670 runs up to 3 times per hour between Cologne/Bonn Airport and Bonn Hauptbahnhof. Services are less frequent on weekend but at least once per hour. The journey takes half an hour.
From Cologne by Train to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS)
Traveling from Köln Hauptbahnhof to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is uncomplicated too. Regional Express (RE) trains make the journey generally twice per hour in just less than 40 minutes. Alternative options, mostly by S-Bahn train from the airport to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof and then on to Cologne, are available but slower and hardly worth the hassle given the convenience of the direct RE trains.
From Cologne by Train to Frankfurt International Airport (FRA)
The railway tracks between Cologne and Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) are the most modern in Germany and allow the Inter-City Express (ICE) to reach its highest speeds. The journey takes as little as an hour and up to three ICE trains are available per hour directly from Köln Hauptbahnhof to Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) and continuing to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in 10 more minutes.
- Lufthansa passengers can check-in and receive boarding passes at Cologne Hauptbahnhof (or Siegburg-Bonn Station) for flights leaving from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA). However, following a change in November 2007, luggage now must be handed in at the Quick-Check-In counters in the AIRail terminal at Frankfurt Airport station. Flights should depart more than 45 minutes after arriving at Frankfurt Airport Fernbahnhof (long distance train station). This service, known as AIRail, must be reserved via Lufthansa.
From Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) to Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) by Train
A few times per day, a direct ICE train runs between these two airports in around an hour but this service is very limited. Most travelers will have to transit.
- The easiest way from Köln/Bonn Flughafen is S-Bahn S13 to Köln Hauptbahnhof (15 minutes) and then by ICE to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in around an hour.
- A slightly faster way to catch the same ICE train to Frankfurt is to take from Köln/Bonn Flughafen the S13 to Troisdorf (10 minutes), change to S12 to Siegburg-Bonn (5 minutes), and then by ICE to FRA (40 minutes). Although this route is more complicated, it does allow travelers familiar with these stations to leave the airport 12 minutes later and still catch the same ICE to Frankfurt.
- For travelers to Cologne, Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) clearly is the best option – both airfares and ground transportation are generally the cheapest. Reasonably easy to reach Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) has an increasing number of intercontinental flights but pricey Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) remain the most important international transit hub in Germany.
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