Deutsche Bahn’s first high-speed train at Brussels Airport, in collaboration with Brussels Airlines for a combined ​
​train and flight ticket

On 7 September, 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. ​

“The arrival of this high-speed rail service marks an important step in the further development of Brussels Airport as an intermodal hub. We want to offer travellers a range of sustainable options to travel efficiently to and from the airport, across national borders. Thanks to the connection to the high-speed rail network, passengers can already complete part of their journey by train and enjoy seamless access to the more than 180 destinations in our network. This new connection is a great example of how, together with various partners, we are enabling future-oriented mobility.” says Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport.

Since the partnership between Brussels Airlines and Deutsche Bahn was announced in February, more than one thousand tickets have already been sold, allowing travellers to complete part of their journey by train with a single ticket that combines rail and air travel. New York (United States), Accra (Ghana) and Alicante (Spain) are the most popular destinations for this intermodal product.

Travellers using the Brussels Airlines and Deutsche Bahn partnership benefit from a guaranteed connection in the event of delays and can also earn miles through the Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More programme. Tickets are available via brusselsairlines.com, travel agencies and all other usual sales channels.

“We’re very excited about this intermodal partnership between Deutsche Bahn and Brussels Airlines. We’re able to welcome more guests on our network, without the need of adding flights. We hope this is the start of a larger high-speed train network at Brussels Airport in the future, with hopefully more seamless intermodal travel options to come.”, says Nina Öwerdieck, Chief Financial Officer of Brussels Airlines.

“Direct to Antwerp, direct to Brussels Airport, and all on our state-of-the-art trains: this is how we’re making international rail travel even easier and more appealing for passengers. We’re connecting two key transport hubs via the ICE service: Cologne, as a hub for cross-border long-distance travel, and Brussels Airport, as an international hub for onward journeys by air.”, says Dr. Michael Peterson, DB Board Member for Long Distance Passenger Transport Deutsche Bahn.

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.