For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain

Köln / Cologne / Koeln to Warszawa / Warsaw by train

How to take the rail journey from Cologne/Köln to Warsaw/Warszawa

There is no getting away from the fact that this is a long journey which predominantly involves travelling across the flat plains of northern Europe.
Though despite the distance it is comparatively straightforward, with only transfer between trains to negotiate.

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Routes

From Köln/Cologne Hbf to Warszawa Centralna

Travel Information

Depart from Koln Hbf (usually) at 04:16, 08:48 or 12:48.

The connecting time between trains at Berlin Hbf will be around 30 mins.

Which shouldn't usually be a problem, but if possible avoid setting off from Koln/Cologne at 12:48 because you will be connecting into the final train of the day on to Warszawa/Warsaw.

The train from Köln/Cologne will usually arrive at the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf, but the train on to Warszawa will typically be departing from the upper level.

3 x connections per day

Change trains in: Berlin

Tickets

Online bookings usually open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

On DB Bahn look for the journeys which have '1' in the chg. column and 'ICE, EC' in the Products column.

If you want to set off from Koln/Cologne after 09:00 SMTJ recommends extending the connecting time when looking up the journey, so that you'll have more time in Berlin in which to connect into the final train of the day on to Warsaw.

There is usually a train departing Koln/Cologne for Berlin at 11:48.

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets 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.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB Bahn from €49.90

DB Bahn 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.

Omio from €49.90

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.

Trainline from €49.50

Trainline Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination: Berlin-Gesundbrunnen

Final Destination: Berlin-Gesundbrunnen

The train will travel on a high speed line between Hannover and Berlin-Spandau.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

The trains also call at: Poznan Glowny

Arriving in Warszawa:

These trains call at three stations in Warszawa/Warsaw, so check your final location in your city to see which of these three stations will suit you best; leaving the train at Warszawa Centralna may not be your best option.

They will call first at Warszawa Zachodnia, so take care not to leave the train there if you are heading to the city centre.

They will terminate at Warszawa Wschodnia which is on the eastern side of the the city centre.

For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain
On the Berlin - Warsaw train journey, this is as good as the scenery gets On the Berlin - Warsaw train journey, this is as good as the scenery gets

This is an exceptionally dull journey by train through forests and across hour after hour of largely flat farmland, so having something to watch or read is highly recommended.

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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.