Introduction

I just arrived in Frankfurt on a flight from Astana. Our scheduled arrival time should have been 08h20. Instead, we are already on stand at the C gates by 07h24. It takes me a while to enter the country, mainly because there’s glitch in the system used by the immigration authorities.

Getting to the Station

From arrivals, I follow the signs for Bahnhöfe. Frankfurt Airport has two railway stations – one for suburban trains and another for the long distance trains. Both have services to Frankfurt (M) Hauptbahnhof, the main station. The journey by suburban train takes about 30 minutes, whereas the ICE train takes 13 minutes.

Frankfurt Flughafen to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof

There are regular and frequent trains from the airport to the city. A lot of people alight at the airport, which means the two First Class coaches are more or less empty on my train.

Transit in Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof

I arrive at the main station at 08h45. I have a seat reservation on the 10h05 train to Basel. There would be an earlier train at 09h05 to Interlaken via Basel. But that one looks very full already. So I head for the DB Lounge instead, which is located right above the DB Reisecenter.

DB Lounge Frankfurt

Access to the lounge is via a separate entrance on the side of the Reisecenter. There are two lounges – the Premium lounge for holders of a First Class ticket, and one for frequent travellers.

The lounge is very nicely appointed and clean, and that includes the washrooms. I park myself by the arched windows overlooking the large hall below, giving me a spectacular view of the arriving and departing trains.

The lounge has good wifi connectivity and also features a large bar where you can order complimentary drinks and food from the baristas. I ask for an orange juice, a cappuccino, and a cheese sandwich.

Boarding

The train is running six minutes late. There are three First Class coaches which are located at the front of the train, at the far end of the platform.

The Cabin & Seat

I’m seated in car 11, seat 101, which is on the row of single seats arranged in an airline configuration behind each other. There are facing twin seats too on the train. Each seat has an electricity plug and armrests that can be raised. The recline is good. The first car on a train set is usually the silent car.

Service & Food

The dining car is located in car 10, between First Class and Second Class. However, in First Class you can order and pay for meals directly at your seat. The crew are friendly and make regular runs through the train throughout the journey. There is a menu in every seat pocket. The selection is quite good, and includes snacks, like sandwiches, as well as more substantial warm dishes like pasta with ragù. I only have a cappuccino.

Arrival in Basel

The journey to Basel is two hours and forty minutes. En route, the train stops in Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Baden Baden, Freiburg, and then Basel. The first stop in Basel is the Badischer Bahnhof, followed by the Swiss station at Basel SBB. Despite our departure delay of six minutes, we pull into Basel SBB on time.

Conclusion

Deutsche Bahn is better than its reputation, I think. There was a time when DB bashing was quite popular, especially on social media like LinkedIn, where wannabe executives would complain loudly about how Deutsche Bahn messed up their schedule. Admittedly, I don’t travel very often with them, but so far I’ve not encountered any major disruption or delay. I rather enjoyed the train ride, and the lounge in Frankfurt was really quite nice.