By Train from Köln / Cologne / Koeln (Germany) to Bremen (Germany)

Final Destination:  Hamburg-Altona or Kiel

Despite there being no high speed lines between Koln/Cologne and Bremen some trains between the two cities are ICE-1 trains.

The percentage of ICE-1 trains used on these services will increase, as more ICE trains are being switched to this route.

Some trains in the timetable are also EC trains and not IC trains, as these trains will have commenced their journeys in Switzerland - so you may find yourself on a Swiss and not a German IC train.

The lack of a high speed line means that it doesn't matter which train you take, they all have similar journey times.

Trains that travel via Wuppertal are slightly faster than those which travel via Essen - but the time difference is marginal, so it's not worth targeting the trains that travel via Wuppertal.

Whether a train travels via Wuppertal or Essen also makes no difference to the ticket price.

If you are new to travelling by train in Germany, we recommend taking a look at our GermanTrain Travel Guide.
It is packed with info and useful links to help ensure you’ll have a stress-free trip.