Bruxelles / Brussels to Frankfurt by train

How to take the rail journey from Bruxelles/Brussels to Frankfurt (Main)

Travelling by train from the Belgian capital to central Germany and beyond is wonderfully simple thanks to the comparatively frequent service of smart high speed ICE trains.

Frankfurt (Main) hbf is a very straightforward major station in which to change trains and connections are available there into a swathe of other destinations including Dresden, Leipzig, Linz, Munich, Nurnberg, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich.

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Routes

From Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid to Frankfurt Main Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)

All trains also call at: Aachen; Koln/Cologne and Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport

Most of these ICE trains also call at: Bruxelles-Nord

Mon - Thurs = 6 x trains per day
Friday = 7 x trains
Sat/Sun = 5 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB 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.

When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.

Use the ‘earlier trains’ and ‘later trains’ buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
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.

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.

Though this is also a journey on which you can often save money (up to more than €20) if you're happy to change trains and avoid these direct services.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €29.90

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 €29.90

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.

Trainline from €29.90

Trainline Guide

SaveATrain from €29.90

SaveATrain Guide

Happyrail from €29.90

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.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed

Good to Know

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.

Between Leuven and Liege Between Leuven and Liege
Between Liege and Aachen Between Liege and Aachen
From the high speed line in Germany From the high speed line in Germany

This train journey from Bruxelles to Frankfurt is usually a great showcase for 21st century European train travel.

The sleek ICE 3 trains give any journey a wow factor and on virtually all of this route they're either travelling on a custom-built high speed line, or on a conventional railway that has been re-engineered so that the trains can travel faster.

The fastest part of this trip comes between Seigburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Flughafen, when the train will travel at up to 285 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line.

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