Deutsche Bahn has published a press release on Wednesday 4 March 2026 regarding its plans for Belgium coming summer. It confirms this post of 1 March.
Additional summer ICE between Cologne and Brussels • weekend extension to Ghent, Bruges and Ostend • bookable now, services start on 3 June 2026
“Travelling to Belgium by rail will become even more frequent: from early June to the end of August 2026, Deutsche Bahn (DB) will expand its highly popular service between Cologne and Brussels“, it says.
In cooperation with the Belgian railway NMBS / SNCB, passengers will have an additional – and thus a ninth – daily train pair (outbound and return) between the two neighbouring countries during the summer months, also stopping in Aachen, Liège and, newly, Leuven as well as Brussels-North.
“On weekends, the new ICE trains will also take travellers for the first time to the historic cities of Bruges and Ghent and directly to the Belgian North Sea coast at Ostend.”
Schedule
The new train will operate from 3 June to 20 July and from 6 to 31 August 2026. The service departs Cologne Main Station Monday to Friday at 10:40 and 10:43 towards Brussels, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:08 towards the Belgian North Sea coast.
From Aachen, the new ICE trains depart Monday to Friday at 11:20 and 11:29, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:58. On Saturdays and Sundays, Ghent St Peter’s is reached at 13:00, Bruges at 13:30, and the coastal city of Ostend at 13:47.
“So that travellers can enjoy the final hours of their stay in a relaxed way, the train in the opposite direction departs Ostend on Saturdays and Sundays at 14:24, Bruges at 14:40, and Ghent St Peter’s at 15:10, arriving in Aachen at 17:00 and Cologne Mainl Station at 17:50.”
ICE 3neo
The newest flagship of the ICE fleet will be used on this cross-border service: the ICE 3neo. These most modern and innovative trains in DB’s fleet have already been operating since summer 2024 on the popular two-hourly services between Frankfurt (Main), Cologne and the Belgian capital Brussels, and are characterised by particularly high levels of comfort and reliability.
The new connection between Cologne, Aachen, Brussels and Ostend is already visible in DB timetable media and can now be booked via bahn.de, the DB Navigator app and DB travel centres.
Antwerp
Tickets are also available through DB sales channels for the new direct connection between Cologne and Antwerp via Aachen, Liège, Leuven and Brussels Airport, with two train pairs daily. These services will begin operating on 7 September 2026.
More on night trains and transcontinental train travel
- Deutsche Bahn ICE 1110 and 1111 to connect Cologne and Ostend on weekends from 6 June to end of summer 2026.
- European Sleeper postpones Brussels–Cologne–Zurich–Milan night train to 9 September 2026.
- 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.
- 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.
