Frankfurt Airport Terminal 2 to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof: SkyLine, then the S8 or S9

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is Germany's busiest airport and one of the main transfer hubs in continental Europe. It has two terminals. Terminal 1 handles Lufthansa and most Star Alliance carriers; Terminal 2 serves the rest. Between them lie apron space and taxiways, crossed by an elevated driverless people mover called the SkyLine.

The awkward part, if you land at Terminal 2, is that the airport's railway station is not underneath Terminal 2 at all. It sits under Terminal 1. Map apps see you want to reach the city and happily suggest a bus — the author of the original note is blunt about this: do not trust Google Maps for the bus.

This guide follows the route that was actually walked: Terminal 2 arrivals, follow the Terminal 1 signs, ride the SkyLine to Terminal 1, follow Bahnhöfe / Train stations down to the regional station, then take the S8 or S9 for about fifteen minutes to Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, the city's main station. Every step happens inside the terminal and station buildings, so you never stand at a kerb with your suitcase.

1. Why the airport bus is the wrong choice

Put the airport and the city on the same map and a bus looks almost like a straight line: leave the terminal, cross a road, get on, and a few stops later you are on the edge of the centre. But the map measures flat distance, and the airport works vertically. The bus is not really the problem; leaving the building is.

The bus stops at Frankfurt are on the roads outside the terminals. From Terminal 2 arrivals you first walk through the traffic lanes, find the right stop, work out the direction, and then wait in the open. Frankfurt winters are cold and wet and its spring and autumn are rainy; ten minutes at a stop is enough to regret the decision. With luggage you also load and unload the bags yourself. The bus then uses city streets, which clog up in the morning peak, and once you reach the city you will usually need a U-Bahn or S-Bahn for the last stretch — a second move with the bags.

This route looks roundabout because the airport itself is layered. Terminal 1 was built in the 1970s with the railway station underneath from the start. Terminal 2 was added in the 1990s for extra capacity and never got rail platforms of its own. So the airport links the two buildings with an elevated shuttle: you change terminal sideways first, then go down for the train. Once that is clear, the question "why is there no station under Terminal 2?" answers itself.

The indoor route costs you nothing but walking. The SkyLine is free and runs every couple of minutes, the S-Bahn runs underground away from traffic, and the whole way is served by lifts and escalators. Signs are in German and English, so you never have to ask. The only part you pay for is the S-Bahn, and you would have to buy that ticket anyway.

It is not the fastest option, either. From Terminal 2 arrivals to the platform at Hauptbahnhof, allowing for walking and waiting, half an hour is normal. If you have only an hour between landing and your next connection, a taxi is the safer bet. With time in hand, there is no reason to wait at a bus stop.

2. Terminal 2 to Terminal 1: finding the SkyLine

Coming out of Terminal 2 arrivals, look up for the blue overhead signs. Their logic takes a moment: "Terminal 1 A,B,C,Z" refers to the other terminal's check-in halls, while a plain "D,E" means Terminal 2's own two halls. First-time visitors mix the two up, follow D and E, and stay in Terminal 2 going in circles.

Fix on the line that says Terminal 1 and follow the arrows. You pass a row of plant-health and disease-control notices warning against bringing restricted plant products; ignore them and keep going until you reach an upward escalator.

A few steps further on, the same sign in close-up is clearer: Ausgang / Exit on the top line, Terminal 1 A,B,C,Z in the middle, baggage claim and halls D and E below. Remember one rule here: to reach the station, do not follow Exit. Exit leads out to the road, and the SkyLine is upstairs.

If you do end up outside, stay calm. Walk back into the terminal and head up again using the little train icon on the ceiling. Frankfurt is reasonably kind on this point: the SkyLine symbol is visible from the arrivals level, so you will not need to ask anyone.

The escalator brings you to the SkyLine platform. The SkyLine is Frankfurt's internal people mover: small automated carriages running along an elevated track between the two terminals. It is free, needs no ticket and has no gates, and the platform screen shows the next departure. Trains come every two to three minutes.

The carriages are small and fill up at peak times, so keep your bags to one side. If the platform is crowded, waiting for the next train is usually quicker than squeezing in — the interval is only a couple of minutes. Very occasionally the SkyLine is closed for maintenance and replacement buses run; the platform announcements explain it. In that case follow staff to the surface route and add twenty minutes.

There are only two directions, and the platform signs say which is which. The ride to Terminal 1 takes about two minutes, with announcements and a lit route map. Get off and follow the flow into Terminal 1 arrivals. From here the keyword changes: no longer Terminal, but Bahnhof.

3. Terminal 1 to the platform: follow "Bahnhof"

Inside Terminal 1 the signs switch to Bahnhöfe / Train stations, usually with an S and a train icon. They do not point to a single platform but to two different halves of the airport station. Under Terminal 1 there is the Regionalbahnhof (regional station, tracks 1–3) for the S-Bahn and regional trains, and the Fernbahnhof (long-distance station, tracks 4–7) for ICE services, located beneath the long building called The Squaire.

For Hauptbahnhof you want the Regionalbahnhof. It is directly below Terminal 1: follow the signs down one or two levels, past a short arcade of shops, and you are there. The Fernbahnhof, by contrast, is at the end of a long corridor in a different direction. On the signs the two differ by a single word, and taking the wrong one costs you a quarter of an hour.

There are two quick ways to check you are on the right path. First, the platform numbers: 1–3 mean the regional station, 4–7 the long-distance one. Second, the people around you — travellers hauling large cases and squinting at ICE departures are usually heading for the Fernbahnhof. The Regionalbahnhof entrance sits in the middle of Terminal 1, and the passage down from it is short; you never pass The Squaire.

At the bottom, the passage splits. One direction is Bahnhöfe and the AiRail Terminal, Lufthansa's air-rail check-in; the other leads to the Bus and Taxi exits. This is where people hesitate most in Terminal 1. Hold on to one fact — the S-Bahn leaves from the Regionalbahnhof — and the Bus/Taxi signs will not lure you outside. If you have a pushchair or heavy cases, look for the lift at the end of the passage rather than wrestling with the escalator.

Should you find yourself at the Fernbahnhof by mistake, it is not a disaster: an ICE will get you to Hauptbahnhof in about a quarter of an hour. But your S-Bahn ticket will not be valid, you will need a long-distance ticket, and some trains require a reservation. For a first visit, the simplest fix is to walk back to the Regionalbahnhof.

4. Fifteen minutes on the S8 or S9

The Regionalbahnhof's tracks 1 to 3 sit side by side one level below the concourse. A blue sign reads Gleis 1 / Track 1, followed by Frankfurt City and the S-Bahn symbol, with an arrow pointing down and to the side. That is the side most city-bound passengers use.

Down on the platform, take the S8 or S9 heading into the city. Both lines serve the airport and both call at Hauptbahnhof; they take slightly different routes after the city centre, which makes no difference if Hauptbahnhof is your stop. Do not take the other direction — that side runs to Mainz and Wiesbaden and takes you further away with every stop.

A quarter of an hour later, after Gateway Gardens and Frankfurt-Niederrad, you arrive at Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof. The announcement gives the station name first, then the connecting lines. The S-Bahn platforms at Hauptbahnhof are one level below ground; follow the Hauptbahnhof or Ausgang signs up and you come out in the big hall with the round clock and the rows of main-line platforms above.

If you are heading for the city centre around Hauptwache or Konstablerwache, you do not need to get off at Hauptbahnhof at all: the S8 and S9 continue east through the tunnel and stop at both. Hauptbahnhof is the better choice if you are changing to a long-distance train or staying near the station. Going the other way, from the city to the airport, it is the same line in reverse; just check the destination on the platform screen before boarding.

Hauptbahnhof itself is worth a mental picture. It is one of Germany's largest terminus stations: the main-line platforms run in a row and are numbered into the twenties, while the S-Bahn sits one level below. First-timers tend to lose their bearings in the hall, so read the Gleis number on the sign first and then decide which level to take. To reach an ICE, walk to the end of the platform, where a cross-passage links the tracks.

5. Tickets, frequencies and the five usual mistakes

Only the S-Bahn needs a ticket on this route. Frankfurt's suburban rail is part of the RMV fare network (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund), and the airport and the city sit within the same fare system. Blue ticket machines in the concourse switch to English: choose Frankfurt Hbf as the destination and the machine works out the fare. You can also buy an e-ticket in advance with the RMV or DB Navigator app. There are no ticket gates at the S-Bahn platforms, but inspectors do ride the trains, and travelling without a valid ticket — or with an unvalidated paper ticket — carries a fine. If you buy paper, stamp it in the small machine on the platform before boarding.

If you will be riding several times that day, a day ticket (Tageskarte) is usually simpler than repeated singles, and the machines sell group tickets too. Watch the start time: a paper day ticket is valid from the moment you stamp it, not from the moment you buy it. App tickets need no stamping, but keep the order page open for inspection.

Put the pieces together and there are really only five places to go wrong:

1. Following Exit at Terminal 2 and ending up on the taxi rank, then having to come back in and find the SkyLine.
2. Reading D and E as Terminal 1 and circling inside Terminal 2.
3. Walking to the Fernbahnhof at Terminal 1, finding only ICE trains and an invalid S-Bahn ticket.
4. Boarding the wrong direction at the Regionalbahnhof, towards Mainz, and watching the city recede.
5. Failing to find the main hall at Hauptbahnhof, when the Ausgang signs lead straight up to it.

Going the other way, from the city to the airport, choose Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof as your ticket destination, not Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof. The second is the long-distance station, the S-Bahn never calls there, and the ticket will not get you on a train. The names differ by one word and it is the easiest mistake to make at a machine. The platform screen will tell you which track to use; take whichever of the S8 and S9 comes first.

This route comes from a traveller's walk-through in September 2025; SkyLine and S-Bahn frequencies and fares are subject to the day's information on site and on the operator's website. On a first attempt, allow an hour from landing to sitting on the S-Bahn and you will not need to hurry. If you are connecting to a long-distance train at Hauptbahnhof, add the walking time for the change.

Related links

• On this site: Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Germany (DE)
• Wikipedia: Frankfurt Airport
• Baidu Baike: Frankfurt Airport