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Berlin to London by train
How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Berlin to London
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Routes
From Berlin Hbf to London St Pancras International
Journey Summary
Monday to Friday: 9hr 40min - 11hr 10min (approx);
Daily
Travel Information
When looking up a Berlin to London train journey, it's likely that you will also see options for travelling an alternative route via Mannheim or Frankfurt and Paris; particularly on Saturdays.
Though the key advantage of taking this route via Bruxelles is that it avoids the need to make a transfer between stations in Paris; which is why is has been singled out
On this journey option the connecting time in Bruxelles-Midi/Zuid station between the arrival of the ICE train and departure of the Eurostar trains will be around 1hr 10 mins - 1hr 20 mins.
So this should allow sufficient time to check-in for the Eurostar even if the ICE train from Koln/Cologne arrives in Bruxelles/Brussels more than 45 mins late.
This guide has more information re: making the connection into the Eurostar train at Bruxellles-Midi station.
Current timetable:
Mon-Fri = 3 x connections per day
Sat-Sun = 1 x connection per day
Usual timetable (pre-pandemic):
Mon-Fri = 5 x connections per day
Saturdays = 2 x connections
Sunday = 3 x connections
Change trains in: Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussels
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: usually open around 6 months ahead of the travel date.
Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.
Selecting a combination of trains:
The train service between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles is provided by both ICE trains, operated by the German national operator DB, and by Thalys trains; and the journey options which involve taking a Thalys trains on this part of the route tend to be more expensive.
Also check the connecting time between trains, the end-to-end journey times of under 10hrs are reliant on making at least one connection between trains in under 30mins, with the connecting time between trains being longer on any end-to-end booking with a journey time of more than 11hrs.
Seat Reservations:
The tickets will be train specific, but seat reservations are OPTIONAL on both the ICE train between Berlin and Koln/Cologne AND the ICE train between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussel
The reservation fee is 2nd class = €4, 1st class = €5.30; but the reservation charges cover BOTH of the ICE trains on this journey.
When making a booking with DB or Trainline, you will have to add the reservations.
In contrast seat reservations are mandatory on the Thalys trains, so the ticket prices on all of the agents automatically include this reservation fee,
Reservations are also compulsory on the Eurostar and this is included when booking point2point journey tickets; your Eurostar seats will be automatically assigned.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline | * | |
| DB | * | |
| B-Europe | * |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Departing From Berlin:
Final Destination: Koln Hbf/Dusseldorf Hbf or Koblenz Hbf
These trains commence their journey at Berlin Gesunbrunnen station which is to the north of the city centre.
They also usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.
f your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio or S-Bahn train from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Berlin-Spandau station and join these trains to Koln there.
Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.
The train heading to Koln or Koblenz will be joined to another train heading to Dusseldorf.
The trains are separated on arrival at Hamm (West).
So check the electronic departure screens on the gleis/platform at Berlin Hbf, so that you're waiting in the right zone for easy boarding into the part of the train heading to Koln/Cologne.
Trains travel at more than 250 km/h on the high speed line between Berlin-Spandau and Wolfsburg.
But aside from that this is an exceptionally uneventful journey, so having something to read or watch with you, is recommended.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: BruxellesMidi/Brussel Zuid
All trains also call at: Aachen
For virtually the entire train journey from Koln to Bruxelles the trains, will either be travelling at up to 290 km/h on purpose built high speed lines, or up to 200km/h on section of railway, that has been re-engineered to allow trains to travel faster.
It is a journey of six distinct phases:
- Between Koln and Aachen the trains travel at up to 200 km/h on a re-engineered stretch of railway.
- Then for most of the the 25 min journey between Aachen and Liege the train will travel at up to 290 km/h on a high speed line; this is also the most scenic part of the trip.
- Then for around five minutes after departure from Liege, the train will travel fairly slowly on a route which ascends from the city.
- Next up is the HS2 Belgian high speed route as far as Leuven, in theory the ICE and Thalys trains can accelerate back up to around 290 km/h on this part of the trip.
- From Leuven to just north of Brussel-Nord station the maximum speed is 200 km/h.
- For most of the journey between Brussel-Nord and Brussel-Zuid the railway crosses the city centre in a tunnel.
Train 3
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar is operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Final Destination: London St. Pancras International
Some trains* also call at : Ebbsfleet International; Ashford International (these station calls are suspended for the time being)
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour shorter.
Most of the departures between Bruxelles/Brussels and London will be by the e320 trains; but the e300 trains are also used on this route.
Our guide to taking the Eurostar from Bruxelles/Brussels has more information including details of check-in and how to connect into the Eurostar from other train services.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in Belgium and France.
2: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.
4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.
5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
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