Brussels Airport Goes Sustainable with High-Speed Train Link to Cologne from September 2026
Airports and trains working together? We like to see it.
Brussels Airport is making big strides towards smarter European travel with a high-speed route to Cologne opening in September 2026. And yes — it is meant to make doing the schlep between Belgium and Germany quicker, smoother and many million mulberry trees more sustainable.
The new direct train service, created in partnership with Deutsche Bahn, will reduce the trip time to approximately two hours. Add in check-in, security and waiting around at the gate, and that time is faster than many short-haul flights.
For travellers who loathe wasting time (which… is basically everyone), that’s a major upgrade.
Stops to Take: Major Cities on the Route
The train will not merely whisk you directly between Brussels Airport and Cologne. It will also call at key hubs including Aachen, Liège and Leuven, therefore providing enhanced regional connectivity along its route.
That means passengers from those cities can hop on directly, transferring seamlessly to the airport - no extra transfers, no complicated routing.
The service also extends beyond the main route toward Antwerp, broadly expanding access across Belgium and Germany.
In a nutshell: more cities plugged in, fewer transport pains.
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A Smart Air-Rail Partnership
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this project is how enmeshed it is with air travel.
Passengers can book connecting train and flight segments on the same ticket, thanks to a codeshare agreement between Brussels Airport's rail services and airlines using the airport. If there’s a delay, connections are protected — which takes a huge amount of stress out of intermodal travel.
Frequent travellers can also benefit through loyalty integration by earning points tied into rewards programmes such as Miles and More.
Basically, it’s meant to come across as one seamless journey — and not two separate bookings that have been sewn together.
Sustainability Is More Than Just a Buzzword
It is also an indication of Europe’s increased push toward greener mobility.
Short-haul air travel on congested European routes is increasingly being supplanted — or supplemented — by high-speed rail. Traveling by rail typically is much lower in emissions per passenger, especially between cities like Brussels and Cologne where distance and demand make train travel an efficient alternative.
With its competitive travel time and close integration with aviation Brussels Airport is providing travellers a genuine choice: fly when you have to, take the train when it adds up.
And choice is powerful.
One Piece in a Larger Connectivity Puzzle
Brussels Airport already has good rail connections. It has direct trains to Dutch cities like Breda and Rotterdam, and people coming from Amsterdam, Paris, Lille and London can get there through transfers in regional hubs.
Connections to the airport, which is located within Belgium itself, are plentiful during the day, and are of course relatively accessible for those travelling from further afield in Belgium.
The new Cologne link adds to that - enhancing Brussels’ positioning as an intermodal hub where air and rail don’t compete, but complement each other.
What This Means for Travellers
For business passengers that translates into speedier transfers and easier international links.
For leisure travellers, it transforms to a more direct link to another major European city free of airport hassle.
And for the environment? Less short-haul flying and better transport options.
The September 2026 launch marks another step toward a more integrated European travel network - where hopping between countries feels less like a logistical challenge and more like a seamless journey.
Air + rail. Simple. Efficient. Future-ready.
