Originally Posted by
zooey91
We'll be arriving first class from SFO, checked bags (scheduled 9:35 arrival). Will need to catch the train to Koln, transferring to Paris.
Hi Jim,
Is there any reason that you need to go via Cologne? If I see it correctly, you will connect in Cologne to the Thalys with a connection time of just 9 minutes. If anything goes wrong and you are delayed (flight or train) this is quite tight, especially as the Thalys will probably not wait for the ICE as it is run by a different company. Therefore I would suggest using the ICE at 11.54h to Karlsruhe, connecting there to the TGV. This would provide you with another 45 minutes in FRA in case your flight is late, and you would have more than 30 minutes for your connection in Karlsruhe. In Paris you would arrive not even half an hour later compared to going via Cologne (16.34h instaed of 16.08, ok it will be Paris Est instead of Nord...).
(Before booking, please check if this connection is available at your day of departure, I just checked a random date...)