Travel straight to Cologne from Brussels with Thalys and ICE trains

Travel at high speed and in all comfort between Brussels and Cologne in only 1 hours 47 minutes. Take the direct Thalys or ICE trains and you’ll arrive at the city centre at the foot of the famous cathedral.

Direct trains between Brussels and Cologne with Thalys and ICE

With the high-speed Thalys and ICE trains, getting from Brussels to Cologne is easy. The journey to Germany’s “fun loving capital” takes less than 2 hours, during which you’ll be able to enjoy the landscapes of the Rhine Valley passing by.

After a few stops you’ll arrive at Köln Hbf, the Cologne’s main train station. Set right next to the celebrated cathedral, the station’s within minutes from the shopping district, several important museums and many more attractions. The station’s also a major rail hub for journeys to other destinations in Germany, as well as to Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe.

Köln Hbf train station

Bahnhofsvorplatz
50667 Cologne
Germany

PARKING PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRACTICAL INFO STATION PLAN

Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid train station

47B Avenue Fonsny
1060 Brussels
Belgium

PARKING PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRACTICAL INFO STATION PLAN

Travel update

Announced strike on the Belgian railways from 29 November until 1st December

Latest update: Monday 28 November, 10h25 am

Due to announced strike on the Belgian rail network, the train availability will be limited from Monday 28^th November (10 pm) to Thursday 1^st December 2022 included.

There are two consecutive strike actions:

A first joint strike initiative by the unions of SNCB and Infrabel staff, with an alternative train service depending on the presence of staff from Monday 28/11 from 10pm to Tuesday 29/11 inclusive, with one train in four running (no trains in the provinces of Namur, Luxembourg and part of Walloon Brabant, notably Ottignies). More details on this alternative service are available on www.sncb.be.
A second strike movement led by a train drivers' union with an alternative service for Wednesday 30/11 and Thursday 1/12. More details on the alternative service on Wednesday 30/11 and Thursday 1/12 will be available respectively on Monday 28/11 and Tuesday 29/11 on www.sncb.be.

For the time being, we expect a normal service for most international connections (including Thalys, Eurostar and the IC Brussels-Amsterdam trains), except for the following trains:

ICE Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt

Monday 28/11 : ICE trains 10 and 12 (from Frankfurt to Brussels) are cancelled
Tuesday 29/11 : ICE trains 11 and 13 (from Brussels to Frankfurt) are cancelled

Tickets for these cancelled trains can be either refunded or used on any other ICE train on the same route from Saturday 26/11 to Tuesday 6/12 included (without guaranteed seat)

TGV INOUI to/from Bruxelles-Midi

Tuesday 29/11 : all TGV trains (9802, 9810, 9809, 9870, 9812, 9852, 9884, 9886, 9826, 9854, 9830, 9862, 9836, 9833, 9838, 9820, 9894, 9846, 9872, 9864, 9868, 9882) will have Lille Europe as a departure and terminus station instead of Bruxelles-Midi. Tickets for these trains are fully refundable or exchangeable free of charge for another travel date.

IC Trains and regional trains to The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Northern France and Aachen

Tickets with travel dates 29/11 - 30/11 - 01/12 can be used flexibly from 28/11 to 2/12. In addition, all tickets can be refunded free of charge until 2/12. This applies to all trains to: Roosendaal, Maastricht, Aachen, Luxembourg, Aulnoye, Maubeuge, Lille as well as to the Intercity Netherlands trains from Brussels to Amsterdam.

Nightjet

Wednesday 1/12 : the Nighetjet will be limited to Cologne and will not be travelling to Brussels.

However, please take this possible alternative service into account if you are travelling on our local cross-border trains to/from Lille, Luxembourg, Roosendaal, Maastricht or Aachen or if you need to connect in Belgium before or after your international journey.

Other connections from Brussels

Brussels - Amsterdam Direct train 1:50

Brussels - Paris Direct train 1:22

Brussels - London Direct train 2:01

Brussels - Berlin With a change 6:39

Brussels - Disneyland® Paris Direct train 1:30

Brussels - Lille Direct train 0:35

Need a train in Belgium before or after Thalys? Use our 'Connection' ticket!

Do you travel to or from another Belgian location than Brussels, Liège or Antwerp? Our 'Connection' ticket allows you to take any domestic SNCB train between Brussels-Midi, Antwerp-Central and Liège-Guillemins (your departure or arrival station for Thalys) and the Belgian station of your choice. This 'Connection' ticket is available from €7.80 each way in 2nd class or €11.90 each way in 1st class, regardless of your Belgian departure or arrival station.

More about our 'Connection' ticket >

Connecting journey in Belgium included

International ICE train tickets (to or from Germany, Austria or Switzerland) can be issued from the Belgian train station of your choice. Your connection in Belgium to and from your ICE station (Brussels-Midi, Brussels-North or Liège-Guillemins) is included in the price of your ICE ticket at Sparpreis Europa or Supersparpreis Europa fare.

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