From the beginning of June until the end of August 2026, Deutsche Bahn will launch an additional ICE service on the Cologne–Brussels route, offering more frequent travel for passengers traveling to Belgium.
As a result, DB will expand its highly popular service on the Cologne–Brussels route in cooperation with Belgian rail operator SNCB. This will provide passengers with additional ICE service—there is currently ICE service between the two countries, bringing the total to nine daily train pairs between the two neighboring countries.
The trains will also stop in Aachen, Liège, and, for the first time, Leuven, as well as Brussels North.
On weekends, the new ICE trains will take passengers to the historic cities of Bruges and Ghent for the first time, as well as directly to the Belgian North Sea coast in Ostend.
Timetable for ICE service
The new ICE train will run from June to July, as well as in August 2026. The connection departs from Cologne Central Station Monday through Friday at 10:40 a.m. to Brussels, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:08 a.m. to the Belgian North Sea coast.
From Aachen, the new ICE trains depart Monday through Friday at 11:20 and 11:29, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:58. Trains arrive at Gent St. Pieters station on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 p.m., Bruges at 1:30 p.m., and the coastal city of Ostend at 1:47 p.m.
DB states that, in order for passengers to enjoy their last hours at their holiday destination in peace, the return train departs on Saturdays and Sundays from Ostend at 2:24 p.m., from Bruges at 2:40 p.m., and from Gent St. Pieters at 3:10 p.m., arriving in Aachen at 5:00 p.m. and in Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 5:50 p.m.
The ICE 3neo, the newest model in the ICE fleet, will run on this cross-border route. These trains, Deutsche Bahn’s most modern and innovative, have been in service since summer 2024, among other places, on the very popular two-hourly connections between Frankfurt (Main), Cologne, and the Belgian capital Brussels, where they are known for their high level of comfort and reliability.
The new connection between Cologne, Aachen, Brussels, and Ostend is already included in DB’s train timetable information and can now be booked on bahn.de, in the DB Navigator app, and at DB Travel Centers.
Tickets for the new direct connection between Cologne and Antwerp, via Aachen, Liège, Leuven, and Brussels Airport, with two pairs of trains per day, are also available through DB sales channels. These connections will go into service on September 7, 2026.
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