German passenger operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) confirmed to Belgian news agency Belga on Friday 20 February 2026 that it will introduce a new high-speed connection between Antwerp-Central Railway Station in Belgium and Cologne in Germany in September. The trains will also stop at Brussels Airport.
From September, a new ICE line operated by Deutsche Bahn will link Antwerp with Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, with an intermediate stop at Brussels Airport.
The project has been planned for some time. A corresponding application for the new line was submitted to the federal rail regulator in the middle of last year.
It has now been confirmed that the service will start in September with two daily train pairs. Further details will be published shortly, a spokesperson said.
According to the submitted application, the trains are scheduled to run from 7 September. The route will go from Antwerp via Brussels Airport, Leuven (Louvain, Löwen), Liège (Luik, Lüttich) and Aachen to Cologne.
Currently, eight ICE trains run daily in both directions between Germany (Frankfurt, Cologne, Aachen) and Belgium. These also stop in Liège before continuing to Brussels.
Eurostar also offers connections between Belgium and Germany. There’s also the Tri-Country Train linking Liège, Maastricht in the Netherlands and Aachen. And there is the Liège – Verviers – Aachen S41 train.
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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.
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- Gemini Trains partners with Uber for Stratford to France Channel Tunnel route.
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- 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.
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