Brussels Airlines and Deutsche Bahn Partner for Seamless Travel

Today, the first ICE high-speed train (HST) from Cologne arrived at Brussels Airport station. This means the airport is, for the first time since 2015, directly connected again to the international high-speed rail network.

As of today, travellers from western Germany flying with Brussels Airlines can combine their flight and train journey in a single booking, thanks to a partnership between the airline and Deutsche Bahn.

Deutsche Bahn’s first high-speed train departed from Cologne station at 6:11 a.m. After stops in Aachen, Liège and Leuven, the train arrived at Brussels Airport at 8:29 a.m., marking the return of a high-speed train service to the airport for the first time in over 10 years.

Around five minutes later, the train continued on to its final destination, Antwerpen-Centraal. To celebrate the inaugural journey, Brussels Airlines cabin crew treated all passengers on board to Belgian Neuhaus chocolates.

Seamless connection between train and plane

There are two return services every day between Cologne and Antwerp. The trains from Cologne arrive at the airport station at 8:29 a.m. and 4:28 p.m.

The trains in the other direction, from Antwerp to Cologne, call at Brussels Airport at 11:29 a.m. and 2:29 p.m. Deutsche Bahn’s ICE high-speed trains operate in cooperation with NMBS, which provides the drivers for this connection.

The new connection offers travellers from Western Germany fast and easy access to Brussels Airport’s extensive network, with more than 180 destinations worldwide. At the same time, passengers arriving at the airport have an easy and direct connection to Western Germany.

In this way, this high-speed train strengthens Brussels Airport’s role as an intermodal hub and makes it easier to combine train and plane.