Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Bremen by train

Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona or Kiel

Despite there being no high speed lines between Koln/Cologne and Bremen some trains between the two cities are ICE trains.
The percentage of ICE trains used on these services will increase, as more ICE trains are being switched to this route.

Some trains in the timetable are also EC trains and not IC trains, as these trains will have commenced their journeys in Switzerland; so you may find yourself on a Swiss and not a German IC train.

Trains either take a route via Essen or a route via Wuppertal.
The lack of a high speed line means that it doesn't matter which train you take, they all have similar journey times.

Trains that travel via Wuppertal are slightly faster than those which travel via Essen, but the time difference is marginal, so it's not worth targeting the trains that travel via Wuppertal.

Whether a train travels via Wuppertal or Essen also makes no difference to the ticket price.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

When looking for tickets from Köln Hbf on DB type ‘K‘ or 'COLOGNE' into the ‘from‘ box and not ‘Ko‘.

On the DB booking site look for journeys that have:

• 0 in the Chg. column
• ICE or IC in the Products column.

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

Reservations are highly recommended for this journey, book a 1st class ticket and your seat will be assigned, but not if you book 2nd class.
This is one of Germany's busiest rail routes.