Frankfurt Metro Map 2024 – Timetable, Tickets & Prices

The Frankfurt subway network, which has been part of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) fare zone since 1995, is the second most important mode of transport in the Main metropolis after the S-Bahn. It is not for nothing that more than 300,000 people use the subway every day to get from A to B. A special feature of the 65-kilometer-long subway system is that most of the route is above ground, which means that only 27 of the 86 stations are underground.

Of the nine lines currently on the Frankfurt subway map, eight cross the city center, making it very easy to reach them directly. Only the U9 line, which went into operation in 2010 and connects the new development area on Riedberg and the university campus to the subway network in Frankfurt, does not go as far as the city center. In order to cope with rising passenger numbers and to connect further outlying areas with the city center, the subway plan in Frankfurt is to be supplemented in future by an extension of the U5 to Frankfurter Berg and the Europaviertel.

The Frankfurt subway lines at a glance

• U1 (Ginnheim – Südbahnhof)
• U2 (Bad Homburg – Südbahnhof)
• U3 (Südbahnhof – Oberursel Hohemark)
• U4 (Enkheim – Bockenheimer Warte)
• U5 (Central Station – Preungesheim)
• U6 (Ostbahnhof – Praunheim Heerstraße)
• U7 (Hausen – Enkheim)
• U8 (Südbahnhof – Riedberg)
• U9 (Niedereschbach – Ginnheim)

Frankfurt has been known as “Mainhattan” for decades due to the high presence of banks and other internationally operating companies. Just like its big role model, Frankfurt therefore relies on a well-developed subway network that takes commuters to their workplace, travelers to the airport and tourists to sights such as Frankfurt’s Römer.

Both the impending Brexit, which will lead to the relocation of numerous jobs to the Main, and the increasing number of overnight guests mean that more and more people are having to deal with the subway plan in Frankfurt. As everywhere else in the world, the question naturally arises as to how much a subway ticket costs in Frankfurt am Main and where there is potential for savings.

In true Hessian style, Frankfurt am Main relies on a simple but efficient ticket system for using the subway. Instead of running several ticket systems for bus, S-Bahn, streetcar and U-Bahn in parallel, the entire fare zone is charged at a flat rate so that all other means of public transport can be used in addition to the subway. This makes it easy for international guests to find their way around the Main metropolis.

The price of a subway ticket in Frankfurt depends on the number of fare zones traveled through between the start and end stations. The relevant fare zone for the subway extends to the city of Frankfurt itself and the airport area. So if you want to take the subway from the city center to the airport, you have to buy a level 4 ticket.

A ticket with the city fare is sufficient for journeys within the heart of the metropolis. Savers who only want to travel a short distance have the option of buying a short-distance ticket. This entitles the holder to travel to a stop no more than two kilometers away. All stops that are eligible for a short-distance ticket are marked on the Frankfurt subway timetable.

In addition to one-way tickets, which are only valid for a direct journey to the destination, day tickets, group tickets for up to five people, weekly tickets and discounted subway tickets for children can also be purchased. Subway tickets in Frankfurt are available at the service points of the transport company, at the ticket machines at the subway stations, online via the VGF web store and as a mobile ticket via the RMV app. A tip for tourists is the FrankfurtCard, which is available in several versions. This includes attractive additional offers, such as a discount of up to 50 percent in museums and facilities such as the zoo or the Palmengarten.

Unlike in other cities, anyone who buys a subway ticket in Frankfurt does not need to worry about validating it. One-way tickets, which can only be purchased at the ticket machines on the platform, are already validated and therefore immediately valid.

This also applies to other subway tickets purchased at ticket machines in Frankfurt. Both print tickets and digital cell phone tickets are only valid in conjunction with an official photo ID. Identity cards, driving licenses and passports are considered valid documents.

In busy Frankfurt, great importance is attached to tight train intervals. This applies above all to the basic route in the city center, so that there is a frequency of 2 ½ to 3 ½ minutes between the hot spots in the city center. This is achieved in particular at peak times by overlapping several lines. Due to the significant drop in capacity utilization during the school vacations in the federal state of Hesse, the subway plan in Frankfurt provides for a reduction in the train frequency of lines U4 and U5 to 7 ½ minutes during this time.

To the timetables of the Frankfurt subway lines:

U1, U2, U3, U4, U5, U6, U7, U8, U9

The subway in Frankfurt is currently taking a break between around 1 am and around 4 am. This means that both employees and night owls have to switch to the night bus routes that run in Frankfurt’s districts between midnight and 4 a.m., even at weekends. However, according to the plans of the transport company and the city of Frankfurt, the night-time standstill of the subway will come to an end from December 2017. From the end of the year, there are plans to gradually extend the service into the night-time hours so that, in addition to the S-Bahn timetable in Frankfurt, the U-Bahn timetable will also cover a full 24-hour service.

The Frankfurt subway has an interesting history, which began in the reconstruction years after the Second World War. If you would like to find out more about how the subway was built in the metropolis on the Main and how the subway plan in Frankfurt became what it is today, take part in a guided tour of Frankfurt’s underground. The tour, which also includes a group day ticket, lasts around 90 minutes and takes visitors deep into the city’s history.

Even if there are now several ticket machines on every subway platform for purchasing paper tickets, this will soon be a thing of the past, at least as far as season tickets are concerned. VGF has been converting its ticket machines to e-tickets since 2015. However, it will probably be a few years before paper is no longer needed for day tickets and single tickets.