Frankfurt Airport to Train Question

The trains to Boppard will be regional trains, so you need to head to the Regional train station which is under Terminal 1. There is signage everywhere pointing out the 2 stations - Long distance and Regional. You want the Regional. Get your ticket there.

If you like you can get on any train that is going to Mainz and pick up your train to Boppard there, rather than just wait around the airport. There may be more trains going to Boppard from Mainz. Though I do get that you may just want the ease of a direct train, there may also be the desire to simply get to your destination after that long, overnight flight.

I would guess it will take about an hour to deplane, go through passport control, and pick up your luggage. No one is going to look at your bags. Just walk out the doors that say "nothing to declare", and emerge into the public spaces of the airport. (I pick up people all the time at the airport and 45 min. to 1 hour is the average amount that it takes.)

You want to go to the Regionalbahnhof, which is the closest from the terminal. Just follow the train icons. The direct regional trains are at 23 (or 24) past the odd hours, ie 9:23, 11:24, 13:24 etc. There is an extra rush hour direct train at 16:24. At other times, there is a single connection train at 30 past the hour every hour with a change in Mainz.

I would not worry about how much time it takes to clear customs, get luggage and get to the Regionalbahnhof. It will be what will be (isn't there a song about that?). Just know that the maximum wait time is 59 minutes if you arrive at 31 past the hour.

Can anyone advise with directions to get to the train area at the airport.

The Regional Bahnhof is under the bus terminal across the access road from Terminal 1. There are two ways to get from T2 to T1 after you pickup your luggage in T2 (go to "Connection between Terminals" link on this page)

There are shuttle buses that leave from in front of T2 and will drop you off in front of T1. Go into T1 at the door for Concouse B and look for signs to the Regional Bahnhof. There will be stairs and escalators near the front wall of T1; they will lead you under the access road and to the upper level of the Bahnhof where you can buy your tickets.

Alternatively, there is a shuttle train, called the SkyLine, that links Terminal 2 to Terminal 1. Look for signs to the SkyLine station. It's several floors above where you pick up your luggage. Take the SkyLine to the station for Concourse B (the voice will announce, in English, that it's the stop for all rail stations. Go downstairs to the ticketing level and look for the stair/escalators against the outside walls that lead to the Regional Bahnhof.

It's a little harder to get to/from the SkyLine stations, but cars leave every few minutes, vs the bus every 10-15 minutes. If you are using a cart, you can't take it on the SkyLine. You'll have to leave the cart in the station, but there will usually be carts at the other station left by riders going the other way.

Lee, they are arriving in Terminal 1.
The Regional train station is under Terminal 1. When you arrive, just take the escalators down to the station from your arrival gate, whether it is A or B or C. You do not have to go across any streets.
I am keeping it easy for the OP, because I am there all the time and show people where the station is from the various arrival gates.

I thought they originally posted Terminal 2? Sorry.

Then it looks like their scheduled arrival at T1 will be at 6:30 (Air Canada), 7:50 (Lufthansa), 11:10 (Air Canada), or 9:50 (Condor, not every day). That is the scheduled arrival. You never know with a trans-Atlantic flight when you are going to arrive. I've arrived an hour late in Germany at least 2 times, maybe 3 times, on 11 flights in the last 20+ years.

The direct trains to Boppard leave the Regional Bahnhof at 7:09, 9:24, 11:23, and 13:23, essentially every 2 hours. In between the direct connections, the Bahn shows two connections with a change in Mainz, leaving every hour at 30 minutes past. Those connections require a 7 minute change of platforms in Mainz, so it is only makeable if you don't have too much luggage to handle. However, the S-Bahn to Mainz leaves FRA every 30 minutes, so, you could leave a half hour earlier and have 37 minutes to make the change. As Jo said, once you get to Mainz Hbf, you have more options. I think there are two trains per hour to Boppard from Mainz in addition to the direct train, which also stops at the Hbf in Mainz.

Also, you say "we will be flying". Is that two people, or more. That could affect what ticket(s) I might advise you to buy.

2 people, Air Canada scheduled arrival at 11:10
I am hoping that the flight times work that we can take the direct train at 1:30 - yes, if everything goes on time we might have a bit of time at the airport but I think after an overnight flight it would still be easier than trying to manage a change in Mainz with only minutes to spare (we aren't younguns lol - and we will have luggage).
Thanks for all the answers, I think I feel comfortable with getting to the trains and what to do....crossing my fingers.

When you arrive, just take the escalators down to the station from
your arrival gate, whether it is A or B or C. You do not have to go
across any streets.

I never said you have to go across any streets.

But the Regionalbf is in the below ground levels of the building across (or should I say on the other side of) the access road from Terminal 1. You go through a passage under the access road to get to the Regionalbf.

I did say,

There will be stairs and escalators near the front wall of T1; they
will lead you under the access road and to the upper level of the
Bahnhof where you can buy your tickets.

@Sharon, when you say you want to take the 1:30, I think you mean 1:30 pm, which in Germany, with the 24 hour clock, would be 13:30. Best to start getting used to their way of telling time, so it doesn't get you into trouble when you are there.

You say you are going to catch the 1:30 (13:30) direct train to Boppard. According to the Bahn schedule I see, that train actually departs the Regionalbf at 13:23. The 13:30 departure is an S8 to Mainz, which would have the 7 minute, one platform change in Mainz. You don't want the 13:30 train. The 13:23 and 13:30 trains leave from different platforms, and, in fact, the are accessed by different escalators, so make sure you have that right. The direct train at 13:23 is RE 2 (Regional Express 2); the 13:30 train is S8 (#8 S-Bahn).

Now, for what ticket(s) to purchase.

If you just go to the Bahn counter, or a Bahn ticket kiosk, and purchase 2 Bahn tickets to Boppard, they will probably charge you 52,60€ (2x 26,30€). Alternatively, you could purchase a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket (QdLT), which will give you unlimited travel on regional trains all over Gemany for the day, for 52,-€ - a minimal savings.

You could also purchase a combination of a ticket for the local transit system, RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsberbund) to Mainz, Bingen, or Bacharach and Bahn tickets from there to Boppard, but all of these options are more expensive than what you should get, an RMV ticket for 2 from the Regional Bahnhof to Mainz for 5,80€/P plus a 32,-€ Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket for 2 people. The RL-P-Ticket will give you the same unlimited use of regional trains for the day, but only in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, which is where you are ending up. You need to buy the RMV ticket to Mainz because that travel is not in RL-P.

Ticket machines in Germany usually have the option, selected by pressing on the British flag symbol, to display the instructions in English.

Find a ticket machine for the RMV, select English, and purchase a ticket for two to Mainz Hbf for 11,60€ (2x 5.80€). Next find a Bahn machine (when I was there in 2008, they were next to each other) and purchase a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket for two for 32,-€. If you need help, they will sell you one at the Bahn ticket counter for 2€ extra, for personal service. You'll still save 6,40€ over the QdL-Ticket.

The two tickets will cover you entire travel. When you get to Mainz, you don't have to change trains, just tickets.

Ticket machines at Frankfurt's Regionalbahnhof typically are RMV/DB "combo" units similar to the two on the left in this picture. (The one on the right is RMV-only.)

They no longer have those combi machines. That is an old photo.

Have you got a photo of the latest FRA ticket machines, Jo? Was hoping a picture would paint 1,000 words... but all I can find currently at the RMV site is this RMV/DB combo unit, supposedly its typical ticket machine.

https://www.rmv.de/c/de/informationen-fuer-journalisten/presse/fotos-grafiken-und-logos/?only_content=812

Well, I do have videos of taking the train from the airport that include shots of the ticket machines. Not sure the webmaster would be ok with me posting my own links.