Brussels Airport will be directly connected to Cologne via a new high-speed rail service operated by Deutsche Bahn from September 2026, enhancing intermodal connectivity between Germany and Belgium. The new link will connect passengers from western Germany to more than 180 direct destinations served by Brussels Airport in approximately two hours.
The inaugural service is scheduled to depart Cologne on September 7, 2026, at 06:11 am (local time). The train will stop at Cologne, Aachen, Liège, Leuven and Brussels Airport before continuing to Antwerp. The Cologne–Brussels Airport journey time is expected to be around two hours.
The service will operate under a codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines, allowing the rail connection to carry a Brussels Airlines flight number. Tickets are available via brusselsairlines.com, travel agents and other Brussels Airlines sales channels. As part of the Brussels Airlines Express Rail programme, passengers can book a single ticket covering both rail and air segments, benefit from guaranteed connections in case of delays, and earn Miles & More loyalty points.
Key benefits of the codeshare arrangement include a guaranteed connection, fixed seat reservation, access to Deutsche Bahn lounges for status passengers, Miles & More accrual, and inclusion of local transport within Germany.
Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa Group, said, “The continued expansion of our cooperation with Deutsche Bahn is a key pillar of the Lufthansa Group’s intermodal strategy, bringing air and rail even closer together for our customers. By improving rail access to our hubs and better connecting surrounding regions and cities, we are making travel more seamless, efficient and sustainable for our customers.”
Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Brussels Airlines, said, “We are very happy to announce the first international high-speed rail connection to Brussels Airport. The Western part of Germany has an important African diaspora, which we can now connect to our sub-Saharan African network. Our codeshare with Deutsche Bahn offers smooth connections in the most sustainable way. We work on more connections to come.”
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, said, “We are very pleased that Brussels Airport is again connected to the high-speed rail network, an important step for Belgium’s international connectivity. Intermodality is indeed one of our strategic objectives and we are strongly committed to developing a robust, future-oriented network that strengthens our role as a major intermodal hub. This new high-speed connection with Deutsche Bahn, and in codeshare with Brussels Airlines, will give passengers fast, seamless access from the Western regions of Germany to our more than 180 worldwide destinations, offering an even more efficient and sustainable way to travel to and from the airport.”
Michael Peterson, Member of the Management Board for Long Distance Passenger Transport, Deutsche Bahn, said, “More and more people are choosing climate-friendly ways to get to their flights. Connecting rail and air travel is very much in trend. The new direct connection from Cologne to Antwerp via Brussels Airport as a hub has two positive aspects: we are once again meeting the high demand from our passengers for international rail travel, and at the same time, we are expanding our intermodal offering through our cooperation with Brussels Airlines.”
