How to buy a train ticket?

For most of the train connections it is NOT possible to buy a ticket in the train. Therefore, please make sure you either have all your tickets bought or you have enough time for buying one, while planning your trip. 

In all bigger train stations in Germany you will find two main types of ticket dispensers where you can buy different types of tickets.

The dispenser marked in pink you can use to buy a ticket from the Cologne airport to the city. You can pay with coins and notes. When you buy a single ticket it is directly validated for the next  120 minutes only if it says bereits entwertet on the ticket. Otherwise you have to validate it in the validator marked in orange, BEFORE entering the train.

The dispenser marked in blue is for all trains: local, national and international. You can pay with coins, notes and the following cards: 

  • Visa card
  • Diners Club International 
  • Master Card
  • American Express
  • JCD
  • EC/ electronic cash

This dispenser you can use when buying a train ticket from Frankfurt or Munich airport to Cologne.