Bruxelles / Brussels to Berlin by train

How to take a rail journey from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin

There aren't any direct trains from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin (they're near the top of SMTJ's European travel wish list), but it's usually a straightforward journey, most of which is on high speed lines.

There aren't any sleeper trains available on this route.

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Routes

From Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid to Berlin Hbf

Travel Information

There are no direct trains between Bruxelles/Brussels and Berlin but the simplest journey options involve only 1 x change of train at Koln Hbf station.

Making this connection in Koln is not absolutely guaranteed, but a typical transfer between trains is around 33mins, which should ensure a stress-free connection.

And IF the train from Bruxelles/Brussels does arrive in Koln/Cologne particularly late, tickets will be valid on the next train on to Berlin.

Between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne:

ICE and Thalys trains share the service of direct trains between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne.
This doesn't particularly affect the journey time and connections, but it matters when booking tickets.
DB generally offers the cheapest tickets on this route on this route, BUT it only sells tickets for journeys that involve taking an ICE train between Bruxelles/Brussels and Koln/Cologne; and NOT the connections which involve departing from Bruxelles by Thalys train.

up to 8 x connections per day

Change trains in: Koln/Cologne

Tickets

There are no direct trains from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin.
When travelling from Bruxelles/Brussels to Berlin by train, some journey options involve taking an ICE train between Bruxelles and Koln/Cologne, while others involve taking a Thalys train between the two cities.
The ticketing terms and conditions vary depending on the trains you will be travelling by.

(1) ICE train + ICE train:

Bookings open:** 6 months ahead of the travel date (usually)

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets for the ICE trains and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
DB will have the cheapest tickets and price mattch with the other agents for the journeys which involve taking an ICE train from Bruxelles.

Rail pass users should take the ICE trains.

(2) Thalys train + ICE train:

Bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date (usually)

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for the Thalys trains, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding.

DB does not sell tickets for the Thalys trains,but journey options involving both ICE AND Thalys departures from Bruxelles can be compared B-Europe.

General booking advice for ALL journey options:

  • When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
  • Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
  • Use the ‘earlier trains’ and ‘later trains’ buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

It can also be worth comparing the prices across the agents, particularly if you want to take a specific trains, as there can be variations in price.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €39.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

B-Europe from €39.90

B-Europe Guide

B-Europe is the website provided by Belgium's national railway operator for the sale of international rail journeys from and to Belgium.
Therefore tickets can be booked for the following international train services to/from Belgium

  • Eurostar
  • IC trains to France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands
  • ICE trains to Germany
  • Thalys trains to Germany, The Netherlands and Paris
  • TGV trains to destination in France other than Paris
    B-Europe offers a 'Best Fares' policy for journey by these trains.

It also sells international end-to-end journeys solely by train, with connections outside of Belgium, if you will be heading to popular destinations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Users of Eurail and InterRail passes can also book seat reservations on the Eurostar and Thalys services without paying booking fees.

Omio from €40

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

SaveATrain from €39.90

SaveATrain Guide

Happyrail from €39.90

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Journey Features

High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main) – the ICE trains

Final Destination: Essen/Dortmund/Koln –  the Thalys trains
Most of ICE trains also call at: Bruxelles-Nord
Note that the Thalys trains do not call at Bruxelles-Nord.
Neither the ICE or Thalys trains call at Bruxelles-Central.

A choice of train services:

The service of high speed trains between Brussels/Bruxelles and Cologne/Koln is split between
ICE and Thalys trains.

The timetable is arranged so that either one of these types of trains departs in each hour.

What type of train service you will be travelling by generally makes little different to the cost of tickets, the popularity of each specific departure has a bigger impact on prices.
Though DB offers limited numbers of Super Saver Europa tickets on the ICE trains, but not for the Thalys trains.
The tickets for the ICE trains are made available two months ahead of the Thalys trains, so the very cheapest tickets for the ICE trains can have sold out before the Thalys tickets have been placed on sale.

The ICE trains travel at the same speed as the Thalys trains; most of the ICE trains are around 4 mins slower than the Thalys trains due to their additional station call at Bruxelles-Nord.

Departing from Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid station:

Aim to be at Bruxelles Midi/Zuid station a minimum of 15 - 20 mins before your train is due to depart.

You will usually* have to pass through security checks before boarding these trains and queues can build up at busy times.
The security checks are at the entrance to platforms/tracks/voies 3 -6 and these ICE and Thalys trains to Koln are usually scheduled to depart from this part of the station.
But check the departure screens before heading for the security checks, these trains can occasionally be scheduled to leave from platforms/tracks/voies 7 or 8.
from Belgium is available HERE.**

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

Final Destination:  Berlin-Gesundbrunnen

All trains also call at: Bielefeld, Hannover and Berlin-Spandau*

*If your final destination is in West Berlin, the fastest option is usually to leave these trains at Berlin-Spandau and connect there into S-Bahn commuter trains or Regio trains.

The station in the heart of West Berlin is Zoologischer-Garten, but these ICE trains do not call there.

If your final destination is to the north of the city centre, then it's likely that your best option is to take this train to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen station.

Check your onward connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

Travel overnight by train from Cologne/Koln to Berlin:

You can take an overnight train from Koln/Cologne to Berlin, but there are no sleeper trains between the two cities.
So if you need to be in Berlin by 07:00, you can take an ICE train, which happens to travel overnight.

This a journey on which we recommend having something to do on the trip, as it's a train ride with few wow moments.

A highlight of the train comes near the beginning, with the views over the city of Wuppertal, on the left hand side.
Between there and Bielefeld, the train will pass through an industrial landscape.

The train will travel at more than 250 km/h on a high speed line between Wolfsburg and Berlin-Spandau.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge

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