Trains to and from Hamburg Airport (HAM)

Hamburg Airport is Germany’s oldest and 5th busiest airport. Both domestic and international routes are handled from this airport, which is the Northern German aviation hub for carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France for example.

There are various transport service options available upon arrival. Passengers can either choose car rental from one of the five car rental stations at the terminals or use bus services, taxis or trains. Using metro train services is a cheap and fast option to get around Hamburg, since the system is well designed and it is less likely to get lost. The S-Bahn is a fast and efficient service that takes only 25 minutes to reach the city centre on the S1 line service.

Hamburg has five main railway stations dotted around various city locations. These main train stations are called Altona, Harburg, Dammtor, Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and Bergedorf. There are different types of railway services available at each of these main railway stations.

The Inter City Express (ICE) high speed train takes passengers to major cities in Germany, such as Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt or Cologne for example, while many trains that operate via Dammtor will be shuttle services between the Hauptbahnhof and inner Hamburg locations: these trains are often used by students wishing to reach the main Hamburg University buildings located within a short walk of Dammtor Station or tourists heading for the Botanical Gardens at “Planten an Blomen”, also within a few minutes’ walk of Dammtor Station.

Hauptbahnhof, the central railway station, is linked to Hamburg Airport by a metro train system, namely the S-Bahn. The S1 commuter train line is fast, reliable and runs every ten to twenty minutes throughout the day.

The S-Bahn railway station is located right in front of Hamburg Airport’s two terminal buildings. Passengers can reach the station either by taking the lift, stairs or escalators. It takes no more than a few minutes to walk to the S-Bahn station from the terminal buildings.

From Hamburg Airport the S1 train runs into Ohlsdorf and changes to the U1 line, which is an underground train service, continuing the journey towards Rübenkamp, Alte Wöhr. At Barmbek underground station the service will change again, this time to U2 or U3 trains. At Berliner Tor underground station the line will be renamed once again, namely either to U2, U3 and S21 lines. The train will continue the journey towards Wedel station.

Passengers travelling from Hamburg city centre to the airport should be aware that upon getting to Ohlsdorf, the train divides into two different lines. The carriages that will go to the airport are the first three carriages. The remaining carriages will proceed to Poppenbüttel underground train station.

Metro trains from Hamburg Airport start operating rom 03.55 am on Mondays to Fridays, while trains reaching the airport from the Hauptbahnhof leave by 04.04 am from Mondays to Fridays. The services leave every 10 minutes. On Saturdays, Sundays and during Bank Holidays, train services operate every 10 to 20 minutes throughout the day.

The train fare is 2.70 Euros for adults no matter what the destination is within metropolitan Hamburg. The fare for children for ages 6 to 14 years is just 1.00 Euro per child. Metro trains from Hamburg Airport also offer the chance to enjoy views of the airport, when the train leaves the airport complex.

For long distance train journeys it is advisable to pre-book train tickets or to buy a Länder Ticket, which is a cheap travel ticket valid from 9.00 am for 24 hours within the state the visitor is travelling to. For example, if a visitor wishes to travel to destinations within the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein, buying a Länder ticket permits 24 hour travel for less than 30.00 Euros for single travellers, while for approx. 30.00 Euros up to five adults can travel on just one ticket within the boundaries of Schleswig-Holstein. These tickets can be purchased from the ticket machine at the station.

Hamburg Airport trains offer a faster alternative to taxis and buses, as Hamburg’s roads can get quite busy during rush hour and peak travelling times during some of the main sporting events of the year.