Deutsche Bahn loves Belgium, it seems. It will run ICE services from Cologne in Germany to Ostend on summer weekends, starting Saturday 6 June 2026. The journey will take 3h26. Domestic use of the train seems possible, but is eyewateringly expensive.
A friend send screenshots of ICE 1110 and ICE 1111. On Friday 27 February, I checked myself. And indeed there they are. The trainset would leave Cologne Main Station (Köln Hauptbahnhof) at 10:08 in the morning at arriving at Ostend (Oostende, Ostende) at 13:47 in the afternoon. The Belgian Coast is popular with Germans from the western Länder.
The return trip is scheduled to depart at 14:24 in the afternoon at arrive in North Rhine-Westphalia at 17:00 in Aachen (Aken, Aix-la-Chapelle) and 17:50 in Cologne. One forgets how far apart these two cities are.
Intermediate stops
Intermediate stops are: Bruges (Brugge), Ghent St Peter’s (Gent-Sint-Pieters, Gand-Saint-Pierre), Brussels-South (Bruxelles-Midi, Brussel-Zuid), Brussels-North (Brussel-Noord, Bruxelles-Nord), Leuven (Louvain, Löwen), Liège-Guillemins (Luik, Lüttich), and Aachen.
Domestic use
If I can believe the app, you can book the ICE between Belgian stations. But it will cost you a whopping 50.20 euros for Ostend to Liège in second class. A NMBS / SNCB ticket on a Saturday (weekend pricing) without Train+ reduction for Ostend to Liège costs 14.90 euros in second class. Less than a third.
But maybe some announcements will be made and all that will change.
More on night trains and transcontinental train travel
- Brussels Airlines and Deutsche Bahn team up for Antwerp – Brussels Airport – Liège – Cologne ICE codeshare.
- Deutsche Bahn confirms Cologne – Brussels Airport – Antwerp ICE connection from September 2026.
- Trenitalia unveils €2 billion investment plan and orders 74 new Frecciarossa high-speed trains.
- Belgium and the Netherlands work on Brussels to Eindhoven direct train, possibly via Antwerp.
- Belgian Mobility Minister wants to revive direct train service to Switzerland.
- NETHERLANDS | Arriva will not launch the Groningen to Paris service in 2026.
- Booking headache deters almost two in three long-distance rail travellers, poll finds.
- Snälltåget to run Stockholm – Malmö – Copenhagen – Hamburg day trains from May 2026.
- Nox night trains: a smart new cabin concept or just an unachievable dream?.
- How firm are Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn’s “2030s” Germany to London train link plans?.
- Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services.
- GoVolta re-emerges to offer train services from Amsterdam to Hamburg and to Berlin using Belgian I10 carriages.
- Deutsche Bahn to offer a Cologne – Ostend / Bruges / Ghent – Cologne high-speed train connection in the summer of 2026?.
- Rail should be functional, not fine art: EU leaders call for standardisation and lower costs.
- Subsidies for night trains? “You cannot fix this until someone builds more sleeper and couchette carriages”.
- European Sleeper to operate Paris – Brussels – Berlin night train route from March 2026.
- Leo Express and Arenaways plan direct train between Prague and Venice.
- Italo targets the German high-speed rail market.
- Trenitalia eyes expansion into Germany’s high-speed trains market.
- European Commission wants to link all EU capitals by high-speed train by 2040… and that’s not going to happen.
- Travellers in Europe increasingly open to choosing trains over planes for short-haul journeys.
- REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
- Paris Nightjet axed: France’s withdrawal threatens Europe’s night train revival.
- 2026 | Deutsche Bahn plans 4 ICE’s per day between Cologne and Antwerp and 16 per day between Frankfurt and Brussels.
- Iron Rhine gets renewed political attention in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
- ÖBB prioritises Railjet over Nightjet: Is the night train revival a False Dawn?.
- EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
- Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
- European Commission commits to single-ticket train travel, Back-on-Track unconvinced it will happen.
- EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
- Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
- Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
- ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
- Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
- EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
- REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
- RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
- Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
- REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
- Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
- Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
- Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
- To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
- Night trains in Europe.
- Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
- Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.
Channel Tunnel updates
- A London-bound Eurostar terminal at Antwerp-Central? Highly unlikely!.
- Trenitalia (FS Group) and Certares agree strategic partnership to expand international high-speed rail operations.
- #CROSSCHANNELRAIL | Expanding UK-Europe train links most realistically leading to Switzerland.
- CHANNEL TUNNEL | Virgin Trains gains access to Temple Mills, ORR snubs links to Germany and Switzerland.
- Eurostar unveils €2 billion Alstom ‘Celestia’ fleet of double-decker sustainable trains.
- Gemini Trains partners with Uber for Stratford to France Channel Tunnel route.
- Eurostar and St. Pancras Highspeed back major station expansion to double capacity amid growing international demand.
- EUROSTAR | London – Frankfurt, London – Geneva and Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Geneva from 2030?.
- Alstom wants its double-decker trains to ride through Channel Tunnel.
- Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) plan to launch a new high-speed link between London and Paris.
- London St. Pancras Highspeed pledges financial support for cross-Channel rail services.
- London St Pancras Highspeed and Getlink aspire to to triple train services to France, Belgium and the Netherlands and add services to Germany and Switzerland.
- Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
